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AN ISLAND IN THE AIR 













9 










A 













A MAGNIFICENT PANORAMA OF RICHLY COLORED AND 
FANTASTICALLY SHAPED CRAGS AND PINNACLES. 


AN 


ISLAND IN THE AIR 


A STORY OF SINGULAR ADVENTURES 
IN THE MESA COUNTRY 


BY 

ERNEST INGERSOLL 

9 I 

AUTHOR OF “THE ICE QUEEN,” “KNOCKING ’ROUND THE 
ROCKIES,” “THE CREST OF THE CONTINENT,” 
“WILD NEIGHBORS,” ETC. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1905 

All rights reserved 


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COP» K. 


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14-11 


Copyright, 1905, 

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 


Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1905. 



Nortoooti $rfgg 

J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 


SCHEME OF STORY 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduces the Manning Outfit . . . i 

II. Gives the Reader Some Necessary Information 8 

III. Describes the Careless Beginning of an Un- 

foreseen Journey 16 

IV. Celebrates a Rocky Mountain “ Fourth” . 24 

V. Marches through a Morning’s Travel . . 33 

VI. Puts a Bear to Flight 41 

VII. Discloses Another Mountain Traveller . 49 

VIII. Lectures us on Cloud-bursts, with an Illus- 
tration 55 

IX. Describes a Catastrophe and a Narrow Escape 61 

X. Returns to Mr. Manning and his Anxieties . 71 

XI. Makes a Startling Discovery .... 80 

XII. Contains Much Bad Luck 87 

XIII. Furnishes a Choice Assortment of Difficulties 95 

XIV. Energetically faces a New Situation . .102 

XV. In which the Pilgrims Come to a Happy Valley 1 13 

XVI. Calls for Sympathy with the Sick. . .123 

XVII. Discourses of Antiquities and Sage-tea . 130 
XVIII. Explains the Recovery of the Ambulance . 139 
XIX. Shows how the Pilgrims made themselves 

Comfortable; and also — . . . .146 

XX. Reports a Serious but not very Solemn Coun- 

cil-of-War 153 

v 


vi 


Scheme of Stoty 


CHAPTER 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 


PAGE 

Notes Preparations for a Campaign . . 159 

Exhibits a Surgeon’s Skill in an Emergency 167 
Wherein is Recorded a Thrilling Adven- 
ture 174 

Discloses the Anger of the Rain-gods . 184 

Surveys the Borders of the Mesa care- 
fully 192 

Brings “Los Navajos” into View, and Dis- 
courses of them 200 

Describes a Novel Tree-climbing . . 205 

Shows how the Ancient Cliff-dwellers 
helped Modern Ones . . . .211 

Tells how Bimber found a Way . .217 

Tells how an Energetic Young Lady an- 
swered the Question “What Next?” . 227 
Divulges an Awful Revelation from the 

Rain-gods 236 

Has Much to do with Fire .... 245 
Relates the Hoodwinking of Chestnut . 254 
Shows how the Rain-gods punished the 

Mokis 263 

Sees the Party safely down in the Valley 271 
In which Redskins appear and a Fort is 

built 278 

Is a Story of Battle 285 

Brings the Tale to a Happy End . . 295 



AN ISLAND IN THE AIR 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCES THE MANNING OUTFIT 

The sun had to climb so high above the crest of 
the great hill eastward of the camp, that when its 
rays finally crept over and slid down through the 
aspens to pave the little yellow valley with new 
gold it was after eight by the watch — 8.20 a.m., 
July 4, 1853, to be precise. 

This morning, however, no one cared how late 
the sun or anybody in the Manning outfit arose, 
since man and beast were for a few hours at rest. 
The day before had been one of hard travel, small 
accidents, toil and trouble, and the night a tur- 

B I 


2 


An Island in the Air 


moil of wind and water, which would have wholly 
disconcerted less experienced travellers in the wil- 
derness than were these western pilgrims. But 
they knew how to make a camp secure in the 
roughest country and most unpromising circum- 
stances. They knew well that July was the 
season for sudden and violent storms in the 
mountains, and that this was a danger to be 
guarded against every day. The three tents still 
stood firm, therefore, not to speak of the funny 
little one which sheltered old Hannah and her 
precious pots and kettles. Andy tried to scare 
her by saying they were just so many lightning 
attracters, but she simply said : — 

“ Go way, chile. De good Lawd’ll take care o’ 
ol’ Hannah, ’cause he knows you couldn’ get 
along nohow widout her .” 

This stalwart old negress, who had been nurse 
to Mrs. Manning when she was a girl in Ken- 
tucky, and had half-mothered all her children, 
was busy at the fire, where a great caldron of 
water was steaming ; and she had spread around 
her the outfit’s whole stock of kitchen and table 
ware and a pile of soiled clothing, while Cora was 
stretching a drying-line from tree to tree. 

“ I ’dare to goodness, Mistah Reilly,” she was 
saying to John with great good nature, as that 
man-of-all-work sauntered up to the fire to get a 


3 


Introduces the Manning Outfit 

light for his pipe, “ ’deed an’ I’m pow’ful glad, ’s 
fur’s I’m discerned, dat the big wagon done broke 
down in dis creek las’ night, do’ missy did get 
sich a shake-up and skeer — ’twon’t hurt her 
none, I reckon. I jest ain’ had no chanst to 
clean up since we lef’ Santa Fee, and de Lawd 
knows when I’ll have anodder. I didn’ heah no 
call fer oF Hannah to come out into dis moun- 
tainious wildness nohow — jes’ like a pa’cel o’ 
Israelites a-trapesin’ off into the desert — but I 
hain’t seen no quails yet ! ” 

Her fat sides shook with a chuckle, and the 
Irishman grinned, and was very slow in lighting 
his pipe. 

“ Dar’s Mars Rich’d an’ Andy projeckin’ some- 
thin’ right now. Mistah Reilly, ef yo’ wants to 
keep on my sof’ side, an’ get some o’ my special 
hot griddles to-night, jes’ you please go an’ tell 
’em dey mus’n’ on no ’count move out o’ heah 
befo’ to-morrow mawnin’, ’cause I can’t nohow 
get my washin’ done befo’ den.” 

John laughed and moved lazily away. 

“ Don’t fret yourself, auntie. Fixin’ that 
wagon-pole’s job enough for one day. The 
steers need rest and feed, anyhow — and it’ll take 
’em all day to pick it up among these rocks.” 

“ Mars Richard ” was Captain Richard W. 
Manning, head of this family party — a tall, 


4 


An Island in the Air 


strong-featured, intelligent American of perhaps 
fifty years, who impressed new acquaintances as 
a person accustomed to command, so that they 
usually surmised that he had been a soldier 
before they heard his title. There were officers 
and troopers still in the First Dragoons, U.S.A., 
who would tell you he had been a very good 
soldier indeed, and that it was a great pity he 
had resigned from the service ; and there were 
Mexicans, who had survived the battles at Che- 
pultepec and Cerro Gordo and elsewhere, who 
would never forget him or his troopers. 

He is not thinking of that now, however, as he 
talks with a younger man, slighter and darker, 
but with the same intrepid look in the eyes, and 
evidently his son. Doctor Andrew Manning he 
had begun to hear himself styled in his Michigan 
town, before he had left that good old State three 
months ago; but here he is known to old Han- 
nah and every one else simply as “Andy,” except 
when John or Zeph hail him as “ Doc.” He is 
the oldest son of the family, and is just turned 
twenty-one ; everybody was so anxious he should 
come with them, and begin his professional career 
in the rising civilization of California, that the 
emigration had been postponed a year in order 
that he might complete his studies. At this 
moment he is fondling his beautiful black setter 


5 


Introduces the Manning Outfit 

Nig, and smiling at the jealous efforts of Bimber, 
Cora’s fox-terrier, to get a share of the caresses; 
but he listens attentively to his father’s words. 

“ Andy,” Mr. Manning is saying, “ your mother 
was so shaken up by the tumble yesterday and 
the thunder-storm last night that it seems unwise 
to ask her to travel to-day. I think we had better 
stay where we are, for one day at least, and John 
and I can put in the time well in mending that 
broken wagon-pole.” 

“ That suits me, for, if you don’t need my help, 
I’d like to do a little hunting. They say these 
foot-hills are full of game — even bighorn sheep. 
I’d like mightily to get a good head ! ” 

“Shouldn’t wonder — go ahead and try it. I’m 
not complaining at the loss of a day; but the 
mischief is that this is no place to camp, even 
over night. There is almost no grass, and it 
won’t do to let the stock run far, or the blamed 
Indians may stampede ’em. I expect there’s 
more than one gang of red horse-thieves swoop- 
ing around here on the watch for a chance at 
that game. Zeph was on watch last night, and 
says the horses ate hardly anything at all, and the 
cattle could find very little.” 

“ I say, father,” exclaimed Andy, after a 
moment’s thought, “it is the Fourth of July, and 
the youngsters have been wishing they might 


6 


An Island in the Air 


make some sort of celebration. Suppose the 
boys and I take the ambulance and drive ahead 
a piece to better pasturage. I can hunt and they 
can have a picnic. You see, if we drive the four 
mules and ride our own horses, that will leave 
you only the cattle and your two saddle horses to 
find forage for.” 

“ I was going to propose that very thing,” said 
his father, heartily. 

“ Oh, let us go with them, papa,” cried Annie, 
stepping out of one of the tents as Cora came 
running up to add her pleading, and the eyes of 
both were glowing with expectation. “ Mamma 
don’t need us. Hannah can do everything for 
the few of you left — couldn’t she, mamma?” 

Lifting back the curtain of the tent she let the 
sunlight stream in and fall upon the cot where 
Mrs. Manning, a pretty, delicate woman, such as 
one would hardly expect to meet in such a place, 
lay with an expression of pain upon her face. 
But the thin features lighted up with a smile as 
she saw the eager countenances of her daughters. 

“Yes, Hannah can attend to things well enough. 
I’m not going to be ill. But, Richard, do you 
think that it is safe? ” 

“ Oh, no harm will happen to them — ” 

“ Come on, Puss, if you want to,” Andy broke 
in; “we’ll need a cook to-night, anyhow. Put 


7 


Introduces the Manning Outfit 

your beds and everything you’ve got in the am- 
bulance just as usual. You know we won’t come 
back here again.” 

Then he turned away to call the boys and help 
hitch up the mules. 

Hannah fumed, of course, when she had to 
give up an unscoured share of the kitchen- 
ware. 

“Huccumb Mars Richard agree to sich foolish- 
ness!” she grumbled; and then, seeing Annie’s 
happy face, “ There, there, go ahead, honey, and 
have lashin’s o’ fun — you don’t get nuf sport for 
a young girl, I ’spect.” 

Annie kissed the old black face, and ran off to 
help Cora pack up. 



GIVES THE READER SOME NECESSARY INFORMATION 

Emigrants like these, bound on the long wagon 
journey across the country to the gold-mines of 
California, were obliged to take almost a house- 
hold of furniture with them, and enough food 
(except fresh meat) to last four or five months. 
In this matter Mr. Manning, being a person of 
means and experience, had provided for his family 
much more thoroughly than was the case with 
many of the overland emigrants of that time, who 
often suffered severely from their lack of prepara- 
tion. Many, indeed, died of starvation and ex- 
posure, or escaped it only by the generosity of 
more wealthy or more provident travellers. 


9 


Gives some Necessary Information 

This party had been one of a large company 
which had come across the Plains together in 
order to protect each other against the raiding 
Kiowas, Comanches, and other Indians, which in 
those days infested both the northern and the 
southern highways. This company had followed 
the latter — the old Santa Fe trail, practically the 
present line of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa 
Fe Railroad. At Bent’s Fort, near where now 
stands the railway station of Las Animas, Colo- 
rado, a few had turned off to the new Pike’s Peak 
diggings, but the main body had kept on to Santa 
Fe, where a general halt for rest and refitting took 
place, as this was a large town with a military 
garrison, horse market, stores, a farming neigh- 
borhood, and so forth. Thence, after a few days, 
the majority of the emigrants departed in a new 
train upon the long and dreary jaunt which re- 
mained for them across New Mexico and southern 
California. Arizona had not yet been separated 
and given a name. 

Mr. Manning, however, detached his outfit from 
the rest, and decided to try to follow the old 
Spanish trail, which led up the Rio Grande, and 
then across what is now southwestern Colorado 
and eastern Utah to the valley of the Great Salt 
Lake, whence he would continue to Sacramento 
by the regular northern road, now closely followed 


io An Island in the Air 

by the Union and Central Pacific railroads. This 
route would not only be a great saving of distance 
if it could be followed, as he believed it could, but 
would afford, as a whole, much better and more 
constant food and water for his large company of 
live stock, and a healthier and pleasanter region 
of travel, than the dry, torrid, alkaline, Apache- 
haunted country along the southern route, which 
for long distances was positive desert. 

Manning had learned everything he could 
about this old trail, and in Santa Fe had talked 
with every Mexican and Indian he could meet 
who knew anything about it. He could do this, 
because he had learned to speak Spanish fairly 
well during his campaigns in Mexico, at the 
time of the late war between that country and 
the United States; and knowing how much 
use Andy would have for that language on the 
Pacific coast, he had urged and helped his son 
to acquire a “speaking acquaintance” with this 
beautiful tongue. Both of them, therefore, had 
busied themselves at every opportunity in inter- 
viewing all natives who might be supposed to 
know anything of the old trail to Salt Lake, 
made long before by exploring missionaries, and 
followed occasionally since by wandering trappers 
and traders. 

The general opinion seemed to be that the way 


Gives some Necessary Information n 

— one could hardly call it a road — could be 
traced, and was practicable for wagons. No dif- 
ficulty would be met as far as Taos or the upper 
Rio Grande Indian pueblos, such as San Juan or 
Isleta ; and a highway, fairly well travelled, ex- 
tended on northwestward through the scattered 
settlements and sheep ranches about Los Ojos 
Calientes, Abiquiu, and so over to the valley of 
the Chama. 

But beyond that river, as all agreed, troubles 
might be expected, since then it became neces- 
sary to make one’s way for many miles along and 
finally across the high mountains north of the 
San Juan River. The courses of this large river 
and of its tributaries lay in deep canyons, making 
the country near them impassable, even had not 
that whole region south of the mountains been the 
home of the Navajo Indians, which just at that 
time were thought to be ready for the warpath. 
The main difficulty anticipated was the destruc- 
tion of the road in places, due to the fact that 
among high mountains freshets and landslides 
and snow avalanches are constantly occurring, 
and likely to tear a road to pieces or bury it 
under masses of debris. No one could tell 
what accidents might not have happened to 
this exposed and neglected trail, during the 
year or more which had elapsed since the last 


12 An Island in the Air 

man of whom they could hear had come over 
it. 

But Mr. Manning reasoned that whatever way 
he journeyed, obstacles and dangers would be 
met; and decided he might as well face them 
here as elsewhere, since the saving which would 
reward success justified the risk. So they had 
come along thus far, and all had gone well until 
the day before this narrative opens, when a half 
upset of the big wagon had forced a halt for 
repairs in a place bad for the animals, upon which 
everything depended, and uncomfortable for them- 
selves- — barring Hannah. It gave them a fore- 
taste of evils to come. 

Now, a few more words are necessary as to the 
wagons and outfit, in order to understand fully 
what afterward happened ; and I promise you 
shall have, before long, excitement and speed 
enough to make up for any present slowness in 
the story. But, I repeat, it is needful that you 
should be aware of certain things, in order to 
appreciate the curious situation which presently 
developed. 

The principal vehicle was a fine specimen of 
one of those huge, canvas-covered “ prairie schoon- 
ers,” which were so indispensable to families mak- 
ing the long journey across the western country 
half a century ago, and which may yet be seen in 


Gives some Necessary Information 13 

the interior of South Africa and of Australia. It 
contained all the general property, and a great 
quantity of staple provisions, such as bacon, 
flour, cornmeal, dried fruit, coffee, etc. It was 
drawn by several yoke of oxen, which were driven 
by John; and it always had as a passenger the 
portly form of Hannah, whose incessant spats 
with John were the joy of the crowd; but the 
two were excellent friends all the same. Here, 
too, when it rained, would ride Carter, the baby 
of the family, — but a pretty substantial and 
hardy baby of fourteen years, — who regarded the 
expedition as a grand picnic, was on the look- 
out for an adventure every minute, and saw a 
good many in a small way. In pleasant weather 
he rode a steady old mare. So much for the 
freight wagon. 

The other vehicle was a lighter wagon, drawn 
by four stalwart mules, and driven by Zeph, a 
strong, cheerful, bright- witted youth of seventeen, 
who was alone in the world, but for years had 
been a sort of chore boy for the Mannings, and 
came along as general helper. He had never had 
time to go to school much, but was fond of read- 
ing, eager to learn, and found everybody willing to 
help him. This wagon was really an extra-large 
and extra-well-built army ambulance, which Cap- 
tain Manning had had constructed especially for 


An Island in the Air 


14 

this trip, and had fitted with a series of cupboard- 
like chests, which opened by doors through the 
sides or end of the wagon box. Thus their con- 
tents could be reached without removing them 
from the ambulance, although they could be taken 
out, of course, at will. 

Above these spacious cupboards was the es- 
pecially comfortable chair-like seat where Mrs. 
Manning rode, behind the driver’s bench ; and 
behind that were two beds, like cots, with very 
short folding legs. These were strapped up 
against the side of the hood during the day, and 
at night were let down and the ambulance thus 
turned into a sleeping room for the girls, or, as 
more usually happened, the cots could be drawn 
out and placed in a tent. 

These cots belonged to Andy’s twin sisters, 
Cora and Annie, who, unlike most twins, were by 
no means closely alike, either in face or disposi- 
tion, for Cora was dark and Annie was fair. Cora 
was energetic and boyish and the pet of her father, 
while Annie was domestic and quiet and the close 
companion of her mother. But you will know 
them better soon. 

Now it was the custom to carry in the ambu- 
lance, besides the two tents, which were occupied 
one by the girls and the other by the brothers when- 
ever a camp was made, the clothing trunks of all 


Gives some Necessary Information 15 

and the boys’ rolls of bedding; also the larger 
part of the things of daily use, such as the guns, 
ammunition, certain tools, and so on. Moreover, 
as it would be troublesome to unpack every day 
the stores of provisions in the general cargo, it 
had been the custom from the start to select from 
these stores, once a week or so, food enough for 
the next few days, and stow it in the convenient 
cupboards, in order to get at it handily night and 
morning. 

Such a distribution of stores had been made 
on the very day before that on which this nar- 
rative began ; and consequently the ambulance 
which the young people proposed to drive ahead 
for a few miles was well stocked — a circumstance 
not only of convenience to them at the moment, 
but which proved of the highest importance, as 
you will presently understand. 



DESCRIBES THE CARELESS BEGINNING OF AN 
UNFORESEEN JOURNEY 

The preparations for the start were quickly 
made. The boys’ tent was forgotten till the last 
minute, and then left ; but that occupied by the 
girls was quickly taken down, folded, and, with 
their cots, neatly stowed in their proper places 
in the ambulance, as well as the tightly strapped 
rolls of bedding of the three boys. Mrs. Man- 
ning’s easy-chair was taken out and transferred 
to the big wagon, in which she would have to 
ride to-morrow; and so used were these people 
to gathering and storing the cargo that in fifteen 
minutes all was ready. The mules were hitched 


The Careless Beginning of a Journey 17 

up, the horses saddled and mounted, and with 
gay good-bys the crowd rattled off for what 
they regarded as only a day’s excursion “just for 
fun,” with the added zest of a bit of useful ex- 
ploration. To-morrow, they thought, they would 
all be together again. Zeph drove, as usual, with 
Cora sitting beside him, but Andy, Carter, and 
Annie rode, — the latter on Chestnut, the fine 
little bay horse which the girls shared turn and 
turn about; and she rode on a man’s saddle, 
astride of the horse, as her practical father had 
commanded his daughters to do. It is the only 
proper way for so long a journey. Mrs. Manning 
had invented a costume which was practically the 
same as long afterward young ladies adopted for 
bicycling, and called the “ divided skirt.” Bimber 
and Nig raced away ahead, as if they understood 
perfectly that this was a gala day, and never 
dreamed of the wonderful adventures in store 
for them. 

With frequent halts to rest the mules, or to 
clear some obstruction from the old trail, here 
readily visible, the ambulance finally reached the 
head of the valley, and then moved slowly on 
westward, along a sort of bluff or terrace. Andy 
rode well in advance, so as to foresee any diffi- 
culty in time to avoid it, but the road continued 
fairly good. After an hour or two they reached 


1 8 An Island in the Air 

ground so high that the grand peaks of the San 
Juan Mountains, previously largely hidden by 
foot-hills, came fully into sight, revealing a semi- 
circle of very lofty, snow-covered, and strangely 
sculptured alps curving about the northern hori- 
zon, while southward stretched a rolling table- 
land of grassy and rocky hills, through which the 
rivers flowed in deep valleys with very precipi- 
tous walls. The travellers could easily under- 
stand now why it had been necessary to climb so 
high (here about seven thousand feet above the 
level of the sea), because they could see that if 
this had not been done they would have been 
stopped again and again by an impassable gorge, 
cut by some of the many rivers forcing their 
way down to empty into the Rio San Juan. 
This large river collects all these mountain 
streams and conducts their waters, through a 
series of narrow canyons (toward the last, thou- 
sands of feet deep), to deliver them to the great 
Rio Colorado. Any good map will show the 
reader how these rivers run. 

About eleven o’clock they descended into a 
little valley where there was a fordable stream 
and good grass, and where lovely groves of pines, 
cottonwoods, and willows made the scene exceed- 
ingly pleasant. 

“ By gum ! ” exclaimed Zeph, as he drove skil- 


The Careless Beginning of a Journey 19 

fully down the slope, “ this ’d be a bully place to 
camp. Feed enough for the whole outfit here, 
and I’ll bet there’s trout in that creek ! ” 

Every one saw the truth of this ; but while they 
were discussing it, and the mules were being 
watered, a Mexican hunter suddenly appeared, 
coming from the other side of the valley, lead- 
ing a packhorse loaded with deerskins and other 
trophies, including the hide and horns of a moun- 
tain sheep. 

That interested Andy immensely, and when he 
learned that by going on about two miles they 
would reach the summit of a ridge, along which 
it would be easy to reach a promontory of the 
range where sheep were pretty sure to be found, 
Andy was eager to go on, for he was bent on 
a hunting trip. The Mexican said he had just 
come down from that part of the mountains ; and 
that the place he mentioned would furnish a fair 
camp-ground, with plenty of grass. When they 
asked him about the condition of the trail beyond, 
he professed he knew nothing about it, but said 
he had heard it was much washed out and in bad 
shape. They told him about their father’s party, 
and he willingly promised to take a note. So 
Andy wrote a few lines, saying what he proposed 
to do, and adding : “ The way in advance seems 
so rough and uncertain that I think I will go 


20 


An Island in the Air 


on ahead a few miles to-morrow, and then try 
to report to you by one of the boys what I dis- 
cover, so that your big wagon won’t get into 
trouble. I think you will probably camp to- 
morrow night in this valley and perhaps decide to 
remain a day or two to give the oxen a good feed.” 

Giving the hunter a slab of the tobacco which 
they carried for just such purposes, they saw him 
trot off, and then made haste to the top of the 
ridge he had indicated, where they halted and 
prepared to camp beside a little brook, cold as 
ice, which came tumbling down straight from the 
snow-fields. A few old pines were grouped about 
it, and the soil was clothed with grass, but too 
thinly to satisfy Zeph, whose first thought was 
always for the welfare of the animals. 

“ I can get along anyhow,” he would explain, 
“ but them mules has got to have good feed every 
day. A fellow can write ‘ Pike’s Peak or Bust ’ 
on his wagon-sheet all he wants to, but it’ll be 
‘ bust ’ dead sure unless he looks out mighty well 
for his stock.” 

Annie immediately requisitioned Carter’s help 
and hurried to make a fire and a hot luncheon, but 
Andy declined to wait for this luxury. 

“ Give me some pilot biscuit and a handful of 
dried peaches,” he said, “and I’ll get away as 
soon as possible.” 


21 


The Careless Beginning of a Journey 

“ Let me go, too ! ” the crowd shouted in chorus, 
though nobody expected to do anything of the 
kind. 

“ Oh, I should be delighted, of course, but you 
seem to misunderstand me. I am not intending 
to drive all the game out of the mountains, but to 
get one little old ram if I can — a specimen of 
the American argali, Ovis canadensis of the natu- 
ralists. Hence, my dears, you must pardon me 
if I say, without intending any reflection upon 
your good society, that I propose to go alone.” 

And with this stately announcement the young 
man picked up his rifle and stalked off. 

Nig strained at her collar and howled because 
she had been tied to a wagon wheel, and every 
one said she expressed their sentiments perfectly. 

Then they got a nice luncheon and amused 
themselves for the afternoon with gun and rod, 
rambling and loafing to their hearts’ content. 
The girls thought it a good time to try making 
bread camp-fashion, as they had seen Hannah do 
many times, but had never attempted alone. Said 
Annie : — 

“ I just thought I’d try it, and took Hannah’s 
moulding cloth on the sly. I expect she’ll rave 
when she finds it out, and I’ll catch it to-morrow.” 

With a shovel she scooped a little hollow, as 
big as a wash-bowl, in the ground, near the fire, 


22 


An Island in the Air 


and spread over it a floury square of canvas. 
Then she brought a quantity of flour, some cream 
of tartar, and bicarbonate of soda (which in those 
days took the place of modern baking-powder), 
and began to mix and mould in the canvas-lined 
hollow sufficient dough for a large loaf. The can- 
vas served all the purposes of a big tin bread-pan, 
and had the great advantage of being much lighter 
and, when folded up, of taking almost no room in 
the luggage. 

When her dough was mixed she placed it in a 
skillet (that is, a frying-pan — the most useful 
utensil in camp-cookery), covered it with a tin 
plate, and placed it on the bed of coals which had 
been made ready. Then coals were heaped on 
the cover, and the girls sat down and chatted for 
fifteen minutes or so, by which time they concluded 
this part of the baking had gone far enough. Then, 
with much curiosity as to results, they brushed the 
fire and ashes off the cover, drew the skillet-oven 
off the fire, and poked the cover away. The loaf 
had risen beautifully, and was a fine golden yellow. 

“ It’s all right,” cried Annie, joyfully. “ Now for 
the finish.” 

Turning it out of the pan, she set the round, 
cake-like loaf on edge, as near the fire as she 
could, and propped it up with a stick, where it 
hardened and browned more and more. Every 


The Careless Beginning of a Journey 23 

few moments she turned it around, and so when 
Andy came back with the head, hind quarters, 
and short ribs of a fine bighorn ram on his 
shoulders, and some cutlets had been broiled to 
add to the rest of the supper, the loaf was hot and 
crisp and brown. 

“ Finest bread in the world,” said Zeph, “ for the 
fellow that likes crusts.” 



CHAPTER IV 

CELEBRATES A ROCKY MOUNTAIN “ FOURTH ” 

What a jolly supper it was ! 

“ Why, it’s just like a picnic,” Carter declared ; 
and then: “Say, Andy, tell us now how you shot 
this old sheep. This meat is prime ! ” 

“Tastes like a cross between venison and mut- 
ton,” was Zeph’s opinion. 

So while they enjoyed the cutlets of bighorn 
mutton the hunter recounted his adventures, stop- 
ping now and then to point to the heights where 
he had out-generalled a wily old king of the timber- 
line ridges, whose massive spiral horns made a 
trophy which he kept all his life. 

“ I could see the smoke of your fire from several 

24 


A Rocky Mountain “Fourth” 25 

points,” he told them, and the fact seemed to bring 
the story nearer., 

Suddenly a chill wind fell upon them from the 
crags and peaks, which unnoticed had changed to 
a hard bluish gray, in which already most of the 
features were lost in a pall of shadow. 

“ Whew ! ” Andy exclaimed, as he sprang to 
his feet and looked around at the quick-gathering 
darkness, “ if we don’t hurry and make our beds 
before it gets much darker, we’ll be sorry before 
morning.” 

“ Ours are already nicely fixed inside the 
wagon,” said Annie. “Come on, Cote, let’s 
hang up this bedroom curtain we’ve been using 
for a table-cloth, and then wash the dishes. Is 
the water hot ? ” 

For a few moments every one was busy. Then, 
when the cooks no longer required any service of 
the fire, the embers were raked together, logs piled 
on, and, wrapped in coats and shawls, all settled 
about the cheerful blaze for a talk. 

“ I wonder if they have as big a blaze as this at 
papa’s camp,” said Carter. 

“And / wonder,” Annie continued, “whether 
mamma is able to sit outside and enjoy it. What 
is so nice as a big camp-fire ? And we’ve never had 
a better one since we left the Kansas bottoms.” 

No one spoke again for a time, for all felt a 


26 


An Island in the Air 


bit serious in meeting this first experience in be- 
ing away by themselves over night, and in the pres- 
ence of those mountains upon which their eyes 
and fancy had been fixed for so many days. Even 
Bimber wanted to stay close by his mistress, and 
growled suspiciously at every sound. The huge 
peaks themselves, whose lofty outlines blotted out 
a great part of the northern and western sky which 
elsewhere was incrusted with the most brilliant 
stars they had ever seen, were almost terrible in 
their nearness and magnitude, and led all thoughts 
toward the scenes that awaited the travellers be- 
yond their passes, and the adventures that were 
to come. The journey seemed, somehow, much 
more formidable than it had in the morning 
sunshine. 

“ Well, this is a great old Fourth,” exclaimed 
Carter. “ I’ll bet the boys back home are raising 
Ned about now with fire-crackers an’ torpedoes 
and spitting devils.” 

“ Bless me ! ” cried Andy at this, “ I forgot 
you, boy,” and he jumped up and ran to the 
wagon, where he lighted a lantern and dis- 
appeared inside. Then they saw him climb out, 
stop a minute doing something with the lantern, 
and suddenly there was a fizz and a bang. 

“ Fire-crackers ! ” yelled the delighted lad, and 
was off with a rush. 


27 


A Rocky Mountain “Fourth” 

“ I thought of this just before we left home 
and put half-a-dozen packs in my trunk, and 
then mighty near forgot ’em.” 

So here in the great lone Rockies they had a 
real Fourth, and all hands popped fire-crackers 
among the rocks and sage-bush and great pines, 
with jokes and laughter until they were gone. 

“ I never dreamed of fire-crackers,” said Carter, 
as the last one went off in a burst of red fire; “and 
I was going to make a big spitting devil.” 

“ Do you know how ? ” Andy asked. 

“You bet. I’ve made ’em lots of times.” 

Then they donned their cloaks and gathered 
round the fire again. 

“ Let’s talk about what we are going to do 
when we get to California,” cried Cora, cheerily. 
“ I am going to fit myself to be a school-ma’am.” 

“ And every time you lick a lad the gold 
dust’ll fly out of his pants like a cloud ! ” 

This was Zeph’s idea. 

“ Then,” laughed Annie, “ you must dismiss 
school right away, and sweep it up very carefully.” 

“ I’m afraid that would shorten up every day 
so much that your pupils wouldn’t have time to 
learn anything,” said Andy, “ and pretty soon 
you’d be dismissed yourself. What you would 
better do is to save all the naughty ones to a 
single day, say once a week. Then spread down 


28 


An Island in the Air 


a sheet and dust ’em on that right down the list. 
Then you’ll get all the gold at once, and can just 
gather it in the centre of the cloth and pour it 
into your dinner pail.” 

“ I can tell you a better plan than that,” Carter 
put in. “Just announce at the start that you 
wouldn’t tan the hide of any fellow if he would 
give you a nugget. I expect they find lots of ’em 
— use the roundest ones to play marbles with, as 
like as not. If a boy hadn’t done much, so that 
you would only hit his hand a crack or two, why 
he’d have to pay only a little nugget ; but if he’d 
been awful bad, so that you felt he deserved a 
regular whaling, then soak him for a big lump of 
gold — big as a walnut, or something like that.” 

“ Why, you little heathen ! ” exclaimed his sis- 
ter, indignantly, though she couldn’t help laugh- 
ing. “ I wouldn’t do such a thing. That would 
be downright meanness and robbery.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know. It would just be a fine 
instead of a stick. That’s what judges often do. 
They say you can go to jail for ten days or else 
you can pay ten dollars. What’s the dif ? ” 

“ There’s a heap of difference. The judge 
isn’t acting on his own motion, but according to 
the laws ; and, what’s more, the fine don’t go into 
his own pocket. If it did, how long do you sup- 
pose it would be before most judges would be 


29 


A Rocky Mountain “Fourth” 

arresting and fining people whenever they wanted 
cash, and then what would be the good of bur 
courts ? That’s the way they do things in China 
and Morocco and such places, and we say the 
magistrates there are all corrupt and mere rob- 
bers ; and that’s what the neighbors would soon 
say of me, and I guess they’d send me packing, 
quick ! ” 

“ There, young man, that settles you ! ” came 
from the other side of the fire, where Andy was 
stretched out comfortably wrapped in a horse- 
blanket like an Indian. 

“ Well, if Cote is too high and mighty to pound 
the gold out of her bad boys and give it to me, 
I’ve got to find some other scheme to get money, 
for I am going to need a pile of it.” 

“ Guess about two bits a week’ll answer your 
needs for a while,” growled Zeph, with deep con- 
tempt. 

“ Huh ! Much you know about it ! Soon’s I 
get to California, and we get settled a little, I’m 
going to look round and find good places, and 
start an express business. I read about a young 
fellow named Adams, who, only a few years ago, 
began travelling back and forth every day between 
New York and Boston carrying parcels. First off 
he only had a carpet-bag ; and then he had to take 
a trunk. Pretty soon he hired a boy to help him, 


30 


An Island in the Air 


and in about three months he had a whole state- 
room full of stuff each way on the boats, and 
inside of a year he had a big business going, and 
now they say he’s got cars on the railroads and is 
a rich man. That’s the way I’m going to work 
in California, carrying gold and groceries and 
things back and forth between San Francisco 
and the mining camps — but it will take a lot of 
money. You better come in with me, Zeph. I’ll 
make you my wagon-boss, and we’ll make a lot of 
money.” 

“No, sir; not till I’ve tried the mines. As 
soon as Mr. Manning gets fixed and can let me 
go, I’m goin’ prospectin’. He says if the wages 
cornin’ to me are not enough to give me a 
good start, he’ll lend me a grub-stake. Ginger! 
I wish we were there ! There’s an awful crowd 
goin’ out. The mountains’ll be just full of fel- 
lers huntin’ fer lodes and placers.” 

“ I allow they won’t find ’em all before you get 
there, Zeph. The crowd doesn’t seem to matter. 
They say some of the best strikes have been made 
right where people are thickest — even in the 
middle of towns. At any rate, I won’t crowd 
you.” 

“ What do you mean to do, Andy ? ” said Annie. 

“ Oh, you all know what my plans are. Speak 
for yourself, Nan.” 


A Rocky Mountain “Fourth” 31 

“ I’m going to stay with mamma, and help her 
keep house, and keep on practising with my vio- 
lin. I don’t suppose there is a piano in all Cali- 
fornia, at any rate outside of San Francisco. But 
tell us about your plans, Andy.” 

“Well, you know father has been talking about 
coming ever since the first rush four years ago; 
and the real reason why he has waited has been 
to give us all time to get more schooling. Just 
think how much better off you girls are for your 
chance to finish the high school and study your 
music and all that.” 

“ I wish you could have gone on through col- 
lege,” Annie interrupted. 

“Yes, I hated to quit that when I had just 
begun, but I got two years of the medical school 
and a year in the Detroit Hospital. That gave 
me my M.D., so that I can start pretty fair as a 
doctor now ; and I’ve got an advantage over most 
of the young physicians there, I guess, in my 
knowing how to talk Spanish.” 

“ That’ll make the other fellows ‘ walk Span- 
ish,’ ” chuckled Carter. 

“ At any rate, it will give me a better chance to 
practise among the Mexican families. They say 
their own doctors do not amount to much, because 
all the really learned ones can make a living so 
much better in Old Mexico. I might have got a 


32 An Island in the Air 

lot of business in Santa Fe if I had cared to stay 
there.” 

“ I noticed your Spanish came mighty handy 
when we got among these Indians down here.” 

“Yes, and it will be convenient all the time, for 
we’ve got a long ways to go yet.” 

“Say, I ought to be able to talk with the 
Greasers in my express business,” exclaimed 
Carter. “ Will you teach me to speak Spanish, 
Andy?” 

“ Of course, if you will stick to it. But it’s 
getting late and we must go to bed.” 

So this hopeful and friendly circle broke up. 
The girls and Bimber climbed into their wagon 
bedroom ; the boys rolled themselves in blankets 
near the wheels, Nig nestling down beside her 
master, and a few minutes later the sighing of 
the wind in the big yellow pines, the occasional 
whinnying of one of the picketed horses, or the 
howl of a distant coyote were the only sounds 
to be heard. 



MARCHES THROUGH A MORNING’S TRAVEL 

These young travellers had long ago learned 
the art of early rising. Here no overhanging 
hill intervened to shut out the sunlight until 
eight o’clock or more, as had been the case in 
their father’s camp the day before. From the 
lofty ridge where they lay, they looked out toward 
the southeast almost as if upon a sea, so smooth 
and low and apparently perfectly level were the 
misty plains of the Rio Grande valley in that 
direction. Only a narrow outlook, to be sure, 
was so free to the eye, but just there was where 
the sun rose ; and the flame-colored glow at the 
edge of the sky there showed that the “ glorious 

d 33 


34 


An Island in the Air 


orb of day ” would very soon appear, when the 
camp was aroused by a fierce reveille, very bad 
as to tune and shrill as to sound, but the best 
Zeph could do on his penny tin whistle. The 
performer was sitting up in his blankets. 

“ Oh, shut up ! ” growled Carter. “ What do 
you want to wake everybody up for in the middle 
of the night ? ” 

The boy didn’t mean to misstate the case. He 
simply had not yet been able to open his eyes 
to see the blushing dawn. 

Andy said nothing, but he reached for a boot 
and hurled it at the disturber, who dodged, break- 
ing his tune in the middle. Bimber came pitch- 
ing out of the wagon like a rocket, exploding in 
a shower of defiant barks, and Nig sprang from 
her dreams ready to back him against anything 
and everything ; while a voice in the ambulance 
picked up the dropped reveille and sang it : — 

“ I c-a-n’t get ’em up, 

I c-a-n’t get ’em up, 

I c-a-n’t get ’em up in the m-o-r-ning. 

The captain’s worse than the s-a-a-r-geant, 

The major’s worse than the ca-a-ptain, 

The colonel’s worse than ’em all.” 

And they laughed to hear applause come back 
from the hillside in a loud he-haw of greeting 
from the chilly mules, which were right glad to 


A Morning's Travel 35 

see some signs of life, and were longing for the 
warmth of the sun on their unblanketed backs. 

“ Great Caesar ! ” drawled Andy, stretching his 
arms in a mighty yawn ; “ I certainly do hate to 
get up, but I suppose I must.” 

Then he genially hurled the other boot at the 
buffalo robe which made a furry mound of Car- 
ter, and that sleepy youngster gave a great howl, 
and fought like a tomcat when Zeph attempted 
to pull him out. 

Ten minutes later the sun lifted itself like the 
blaze of a huge fire over the edge of the earth. 
It suddenly peopled the shadowy plain with 
hundreds of unseen hills and valleys, and gilded 
with a magic and most delicate brush the snowy 
heads of the sierra till they glowed like titanic crys- 
tals of rose quartz. All hands were wide awake 
now, up and busy, — Zeph on his way to look 
after the horses, Carter bringing water from the 
icy brook, and the girls at the fire ; but all paused 
a moment to regard the spectacle in the east. 

How truly wonderful — how amazing — would 
we think the grandeur of a sunrise, did we gaze 
upon it only once in a lifetime, or even in a year ! 
Who, then, would complain of being awakened 
early to behold it ? 

All the same, the morning air was chilly, and 
everybody was glum except the irrepressible 


36 


An Island in the Air 


Zeph, so that not much was said until Annie's 
coffee and Cora’s bacon had half disappeared, 
and the fire and the sunshine together had lim- 
bered folks a little. Five o’clock in the morning 
on the shoulder of the Rockies, even in mid-July, 
is no time for hilarity — scenery or no scenery. 

“We ought to get pretty well along to-day 
after this early start,” said Andy, cheerfully. 

“ I’m glad we are going on,” Cora exclaimed. 
“ It’s good fun, and I’m sure it will help papa to 
steer the big wagon. It looks like a rougher 
road over there than we travelled yesterday,” and 
she glanced along the mountains toward the west. 

“ Bet your boots ! ” mumbled Zeph, through a 
mouthful of bread. “ Shouldn’t wonder if we had 
to do some road-making if what that Greaser said 
is true, — eh, Andy ? ” 

“ Very likely, so let’s get moving as soon as 
possible. Carter, you roll up the bedding and 
help the girls stow the things, while Zeph and I 
hitch up.” 

Twenty minutes later the expedition had re- 
sumed its march, Andy lingering to write and 
post in a conspicuous place by the fire a note to 
his father, telling why they had thought it best to 
go ahead another day and explore the road. 

The old trail could be followed easily at first, 
and though later they often lost it, there usually 


37 


A Morning's Travel 

seemed to be only one way to progress, and after 
a while they would see faint wagon tracks, which 
will remain visible for a surprising length of time 
on the gravelly ridges. Once they had to do a 
lot of shovelling to enable them to drag the wagon 
across a small sunken stream, and other difficul- 
ties occasionally occurred ; but on the whole they 
got along very well and so rapidly that Zeph 
judged they must have come ten miles before a 
real obstruction presented itself. At a point 
where the trail was plain, they suddenly came 
against a deep, dry gulch, or arroyo , as the Mexi- 
cans say, which was quite uncrossable. They 
could see that it broadened and deepened down- 
ward, showing that nothing was to be gained in 
that direction, so Andy rode up to the right 
toward the mountains to examine the banks there. 
In a few minutes he returned and called to the 
rest to come on. 

The way was rough and pretty steep, but the 
four mules set themselves to the work well, and 
soon the wheeling improved. The gulch became 
steadily narrower and shallower, as they ascended, 
and after a quarter of a mile or so was only like a 
big ditch. At this point a ridge of rock barred 
the way, and the ambulance could be taken no 
farther. 

“ It’s here or nowhere,” said Andy. “ We’ll have 


38 An Island in the Air 

to get out the pick and shovel and dig a road 
across.” 

So the young men went at work while Annie 
held the reins and Cora slipped off Chestnut’s 
back and helped Carter gather sticks to fill into 
the bottom of the trench. Suddenly Andy threw 
down his mattock and took out pencil and note- 
book. 

“ Cora,” he called, as he wrote a few lines on a 
leaf and tore it out, “ here is a note for father, 
advising him to turn up here when he reaches 
the arroyo. I want you to take it down to the 
place where we first struck this plaguy ravine 
and stick it in the end of a split stick, which you 
can set up in the road where he will see it. Wait 
— I’ll cut you a post.” 

So, split stick and note in hand, the girl re- 
mounted her pony and cantered off, never giving 
a thought to either danger or loneliness. 

By the time she came back the boys had com- 
pleted their work, the tools were put away, Zeph 
gathered up the reins, and, with a rush and a 
halloo, the splendid team kept out of the way of 
the heavy vehicle as it pitched down the slope, 
and then nobly hauled it up the bank on the 
other side. 

Half a mile farther on they came to a pleasant 
shady spot beside a mountain torrent, and stopped 


A Morning's Travel 39 

for a noonday rest, as much needed by the animals 
as by themselves. The mules were unharnessed, 
the riding horses unsaddled and turned loose. 
There was little danger of their straying, but, to 
make sure, the old mare ridden by Carter was 
picketed by a long rope ; for where she was the 
mules and other horses would stay. That’s the way 
with a train of animals — especially mules. They 
form an attachment to a leader and cling to that 
one animal with a dog-like affection, so that, unless 
stampeded by some great fright, the owner may be 
sure of his herd as long as he keeps their leader. 

This matter arranged, every one threw them- 
selves on the ground under a tree and ate the 
crackers, cold bacon, and dried fruit, washed down 
with snow-water, which had been saved from 
breakfast — just a snack, but satisfactory until 
the “ square meal ” of the evening’s camp. 

It was now very hot. The wind had become 
still, the sun beat straight down, and the air shim- 
mered with a thousand tiny flickering currents 
rising from the baked rocks and ground, where 
the grass stems had already dried into golden 
wires, yet were good to eat, for the hungry 
mules gnawed eagerly at the tufts. This sun- 
cured forage was one of the gramma grasses, 
whose flat seed-head grows on one side of the 
summit of the stalk like a little flag. 


40 


An Island in the Air 


“ The earth is like a red-hot stove,” said Annie, 
with a sigh, as she laid her head on Cora’s knee, 
and gazed off at the yellow landscape. “ There 
is not a breath of a breeze. I thought it would 
always be cool up here in the mountains.” 

“Well,” Andy replied, “you know we are not 
exactly in the mountains, but only up on their 
warm southern slope. I guess it is usually cooler 
and more windy here than to-day; and it looks 
to me as if we might have a thunder-storm before 
night.” 

“ Oh, I hope not ! ” 

“ I think I’ll take a bit of a walk,” said Carter, 
after a little while. “ Maybe I can find a partridge 
or something.” 

He rose lazily, took from the wagon his light 
shot-gun, and, whistling to Bimber, strolled off up 
the mountain side. 

“ I won’t be gone long,” he called back, as he 
went off, and nobody objected to his going. 



CHAPTER VI 

PUTS A BEAR TO FLIGHT 

Carter and Bimber soon reached the top of a 
sloping ridge and walked along it some distance, 
then turned down on the other side toward a 
grassy place which looked as if it might be good 
for birds, but saw none. A little farther on they 
overlooked a bit of a valley, and there caught 
sight of a hawk’s nest in a tree standing by itself, 
which looked climbable. This was something to 
be examined, and with Bimber at his heels, the 
lad ran down toward it, but found it farther away 
than he expected. When he finally reached it, 
he found the limbs far too high for him to grasp, 
and the trunk too large to “shin” easily; but 
41 


42 


An Island in the Air 


breaking down a small dead tree near, he made 
use of it as a ladder, and was soon scrambling 
through the branches. Meanwhile Bimber had 
become interested in a large burrow, probably of 
a badger, whose front door was between two big 
roots, and with true terrier enthusiasm began at 
once to force his way into it. 

Carter reached the nest and was intent upon 
its four big brown-blotched eggs, when he heard 
Bimber begin barking furiously. 

“ I expect he’s found something at home. Wish 
he’d get his head bit off!” thought the boy, 
savagely, but of course not meaning it at all. 

The racket continued and seemed to go away 
and come back. Lowering his head below the 
nest to find out what was going on, the boy for- 
got those eggs instanter, for he saw a full-grown 
bear come loping over the prairie chasing that 
fool of a dog, who was ki-yi-ing and doing his 
level best to reach the tree. 

Here was a scrape for a youngster ! 

The bear was as big as an elephant, or seemed 
so to the boy. It was whining and grunting 
savagely as it ran. 

“ Oh ! ” thought Carter, “ if only I were a hawk, 
like that one in the sky, or a horse that could 
gallop away, or even a dog like Bimber — but 
where is Bim? I can’t see him or hear him. 


Puts a Bear to Flight 43 

Has the bear caught him? No, I must have 
seen it.” 

This worry was driven out of mind by another 
horrible thought. What kind of a bear was this 
— could it climb a tree? The grizzly could but 
a black bear couldn’t — or was it the other way 
round ? And how was he to know which kind 
was this monster, nosing grumpily around under 
him. He was dull brown, — neither black nor 
grizzly in coat. Maybe it was a cinnamon — 
and could the cinnamon bear climb ? Cracky ! 
he was going to try it. The great brute slowly 
reared himself on his haunches and began claw- 
ing at the trunk ; and the boy scrambled higher 
and higher with each grunt until he was hiding 
behind the hawk’s nest. And when the animal 
heard this noise in the branches, and caught sight 
of the fugitive, it gave a roar and stretched up so 
tall that Carter’s teeth chattered with fear that it 
would reach the first branches and haul itself up. 

Then excited barking came to his ears, but in 
a queer muffled tone, as if the dog were far away ; 
yet no glimpse of his white coat could be caught 
anywhere, though Carter looked in all directions. 
Next the barking would ring out sharp and clear, 
close by, and the bear would give a roar. It was 
most puzzling. 

“ Where the mischief is Bimber ? ” the boy 


44 


An Island in the Air 


kept asking himself, so much interested he almost 
forgot his own perils. The answer came quickly, 
when the bear had sauntered away a few yards. 
The terrier suddenly appeared, facing his big 
enemy and scolding the best he knew how. The 
grizzly made a dash, but the dog was twice as 
agile, and in a twinkling was safe in that burrow 
between the roots. The bear’s nose was not far 
from the terrier’s stub tail when he entered ; but, 
on the other hand, Bimber’s teeth were unpleas- 
antly close to Bruin’s stub tail the moment the 
latter turned away. If it came to a question of 
tails, there was not much chance for either to 
brag ! 

As long as Old Ephraim stood on guard Bim- 
ber stayed in the hole barking defiance out of the 
depths of it, but never showing his nose. The 
moment Bruin left that spot the terrier would 
sally out, snap at him, and scud back to his 
intrenchments. The bear tried to reach in — 
first one paw and then another, and drag its tor- 
mentor out, but such tactics were of no avail. 
The dog retreated till Carter could scarcely hear 
his voice, and never ventured within reach of 
those formidable claws. 

Suddenly the animal’s eye fell upon the shot- 
gun leaning against a rock near by, and it rushed 
upon it, seizing it with teeth and paws and smash- 


Puts a Bear to Flight ' 45 

in g the stock and bending the barrels — good 
steel though they were. 

This provoked Carter beyond endurance. He 
bethought him of his pistol, which in the excite- 
ment he had quite forgotten. It was a small 
double-barrelled, muzzle-loading pop-gun that had 
afforded him some amusement as a means of 
scaring birds and cottontails, and which he carried 
on his belt in imitation of his father and John, 
who wore big dragoon “ horse-pistols,” but which 
even he himself had never seriously believed to 
be of any account for practical work. 

“ Maybe I can scare the beast off anyhow,” he 
thought, and let drive. 

The bear gave a howl, as the little bullet stung 
his shoulder, and, dropping the gun, came back to 
the tree, where it reared up and got the charge 
from the other barrel, making a scalp wound, 
which brought just such language as one might 
expect from a mad bear with a sore head ; and at 
the same instant Bimber got in a good nip at a 
hind leg. 

This last impudence was too much. Bruin 
was thoroughly enraged. He tore away at the 
mouth of the burrow, as if he meant to dig the 
dog out, but the great roots were in the way and 
before long he gave it up, and, as if deciding 
upon a siege, since an assault was of no use, lay 


4 6 


An Island in the Air 


down squarely across the mouth of the hole and 
began rubbing his smarting pate. 

If Carter had had plenty of ammunition, he 
might, perhaps, have worried the bear into leav- 
ing the place, by incessantly pelting him with 
bullets ; but, alas ! he had hung his heavy bullet 
pouch upon a bush before beginning his climb. 

For half an hour or so the boy sat there hoping 
some one would come to his rescue, while the 
bear sat still, growling and snarling, and Bimber 
continued barking from somewhere in the depths 
of the earth. Carter kept hoping that his friends 
would appear, but the horizon was never darkened 
by a human form. Was he to be kept perched 
astride of that miserable branch all night ? 

Not if he could help it. He set himself to 
think of some stratagem, and thought to such 
good purpose that straightway one occurred to 
him. He nearly jumped off the limb, in delight 
at the idea, before he remembered where he was. 

His powder flask was still hanging round his 
neck. Unscrewing its neck he poured into his 
left hand as much powder as he could conveniently 
hold, and replaced the cap on the flask. Reaching 
up to the nest, he lifted out one of the eggs, broke 
it gently, and let a little quantity of the “ white ” 
run into the powder in his hand. This done, he 
mixed the two together, adding more of one or 


47 


Puts a Bear to Flight 

the other until he had formed a paste that suited 
him. This he shaped into a kind of cord around 
a ravelling torn from his coat, coiled it closely, and 
laid it on the branch beside him to dry. This was 
a “ spitting devil,” such as he had often used to 
make for Fourth-of-July fun : and in the same way 
two more were prepared. 

Bimber, tired out, discouraged, and half smoth- 
ered, had quit barking. Bruin had quieted down 
and was apparently asleep. 

With as little noise as possible Carter crept 
down to the lowest limb, where he was directly 
over the huge mass of fur, and twisted his legs 
round the limb so as to leave both hands free. 
Holding the three “ devils ” in his hand, he took a 
match from his pocket and lighted them rapidly, 
then dropped the blazing things, one after another, 
upon the dozing beast below him. 

If Bruin noticed them at all, he doubtless sup- 
posed some twigs had fallen upon his back; but 
before long their fizzing and snapping woke him 
up, and the next minute began to warm him well 
— especially one, which had caught firmly in the 
ruff about his neck, and another in the long hair 
upon his haunches. These began to sputter and 
burn as the fire caught grain after grain of the 
powder, and the bear grew frantic with amaze- 
ment and pain. He rolled over and over, but 


4 8 


An Island in the Air 


only ground the devils deeper into his fur, while 
Bimber, aroused by the rumpus, rushed out and 
added his voice to the commotion. Suddenly a 
terrific explosion rent the air and nearly knocked 
Carter off his perch with surprise. The bear, in 
floundering about, had sat down upon the gun, 
and, entangling the hammers in its fur, had dis- 
charged it ; but the barrels were bent, and, of course, 
the gun had burst. 

That was the finishing touch. Stinging and 
panic-stricken with the powder on his back and 
the explosion in his rear, the beast galloped away 
at the top of its speed, and Carter believes it ran 
straight over the mountains, for he never saw or 
heard of it again. 

How they laughed when the lad came running 
in and told his story — that is, after they had done 
scolding him for the scare he had given them, and 
the delay he had caused ; and it was a long time 
before he heard the last of it. 

The loss of his shot-gun grieved him; but 
fortunately there was another in the ambulance. 



CHAPTER VII 

DISCLOSES ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TRAVELLER 

On this same hot summer day another traveller 
was taking his nooning. He was some miles 
away, to be sure, and down where the plain 
began to sweep up toward the base of the moun- 
tains, — by no means so pleasant a place as where 
our friends were halting. 

Where he loitered the outermost of the foot- 
hills rose into a great rounded ridge, which from 
a distance would look as smooth as a lawn ; but 
should you climb it, you would find it to be 
studded with rocks rising from a gravelly soil, 
and often rasped by the dust-armed wind into 
strange grotesque forms, like caricatures of monu- 
e 49 


50 


An Island in the Air 


ments, or of gigantic toadstools, or of cottages, 
boats, or almost anything you might fancy. Be- 
tween these fantastic rocks was a sparse growth 
of sage-brush and greasewood, low cactus, and 
various sour weeds, all gray as the rocks and 
the soil, and as dry as a bone. Yet small brown 
birds flitted from harbor to harbor among the 
thorny scrub, and butterflies danced and cur- 
veted in the hot sunshine, finding flowers on the 
prickly pears, and various humble blossoms near 
the ground ; and gayly striped lizards darted after 
the insects, whose buzzing filled the air with a 
keen, never ceasing noise which seemed the voice 
of the heat and the desert. 

Sitting in the shadow of one of the quaint 
rocks, not far from the line of crags along the 
crest of the hillside, was an aged Indian, as 
motionless as the block of sandstone, and, in his 
soiled clothing of buckskin, almost as colorless. 
The very lizards played about his feet without 
noticing his presence. His eyes swept the breadth 
of the valley and down, down, long miles and 
hundreds of feet, to where the slope gently flat- 
tened out into the floor of the valley. This olive- 
green valley narrowed and rose rapidly at his left 
toward the hills, but opened southward as far as 
he could see, and was bounded on each side by 
broken cliffs, which seemed to grow taller and 


Another Mountain Traveller 51 

taller as they receded, for the valley-canyon sank 
lower and lower and lower between them in its 
descent toward the Rio San Juan. 

The old man was intently watching something 
near the head of the valley, — a group of figures 
clustered about a still smaller circle seated upon 
the ground. Some of them wore brightly colored 
robes or clothing, as red as the cactus blossoms ; 
and now and then one would run out and herd 
up the little band of horses feeding near by, as if 
to prevent their straying too far away. 

The Indian knew perfectly well who were these 
figures in this lonely valley of rocks and dust and 
fierce sunlight, knew them as well as he knew the 
coyote sneaking stealthily from shadow to shadow 
halfway between him and them. He was hun- 
dreds of miles from home, but he could tell you 
the native names of this valley, and of the abrupt 
lofty hills on each flank of it, and of the large, 
misty hollow into which it opened far away 
toward the south. The courses of the streams, 
or places where streams would run for a while 
after a rainfall, the positions of the springs and 
water-holes, the name of each of the snowy moun- 
tains that upheld a wall of peaks across the head 
of this and other bare and waterless gorges — all 
these were familiar to him. 

“When will those ruffians of Navajos finish 


52 


An Island in the Air 


that nonsense and go away,” he growled to him- 
self. “ Who else, except maybe a dog of an 
Apache, would waste his time at noonday in 
playing with little painted sticks on a blanket 
in the sun? And that storm will cut me off if 
I do not hasten — see it gathering on the 
mother-mountains ! Ah, they go ! ” 

It was no wonder that he was tired and out of 
patience, for it was now past the middle of the 
afternoon, and the lone watcher was both in haste 
to reach the goal of many a long day of hard 
foot-journey (the old man was very weary), and 
because he was fearful of the glowering skies in 
the north. 

But at last the Navajos were really rising and 
moving about. Probably they could see as well 
as he the threat of storm in the frown upon the 
mountains, and knew it was time to get farther 
away from the range, or, perhaps, find shelter in 
some camp where their families had by this time 
set up their elk-hide tepees. One threw over 
his shoulder the gaudy blanket, upon which they 
had been gambling, and another trod out the tiny 
fire, whose wisp of smoke had been wavering over 
the embers like an uneasy ghost. Then one by 
one they threw themselves upon their horses and 
cantered off. 

“ Go they up or down ? ” the watcher asked 


Another Mountain Traveller 


53 


himself with breathless interest, shading his eyes 
with a sinewy hand as he fixed his gaze intently 
upon their movements, for the answer to this 
question made the greatest difference to him; 
and when they turned down the valley, he uttered 
an exclamation of relief and joy, and slipped away 
from the shadow of the rock so silently that the 
lizards kept on playing in the sunshine unmindful 
of his departure. 

With astonishing agility he sped along the 
hillside toward the narrowing head of the great 
arid ravine, ever and anon casting anxious glances 
at the towering heights ahead, for he still had 
several miles to walk. 

“ The storm grows in the mountains, and is 
sweeping downward,” he muttered again and 
again. “Are the rain gods angry? Never be- 
fore have they met me with such frowns, yet I 
have come in time, and have forgotten nothing.” 

It was thus distressfully that he saw one after 
another of the peaks blotted out by black clouds, 
which every moment settled lower and lower ; and 
he quickened his pace to his utmost. 

Near the head of the valley, which had now 
become a comparatively narrow and rocky canyon, 
he ran downward, crossed the dry watercourse in 
the bottom, and began to scramble up a gulch that 
formed a side ravine, gashing the steep eastern side 


54 


An Island in the Air 


close to the head of the main valley. A rattle- 
snake lay coiled upon a little ledge, just where the 
man was to step, but he nimbly turned aside from 
it, and then halted a pace or two distant. Open- 
ing the wallet at his belt, he took from it a little 
coarse powder — was it tobacco? and tossed it 
toward the reptile. Then, raising his arms an 
instant, with a few words like a hurried prayer, 
first toward the tempest-hidden mountains and 
then toward the sun, which now was just dropping 
behind the western cliffs, he climbed onward with 
renewed haste. 

The storm was almost at hand. The mountain 
range was wholly veiled in curtains of rain-clouds, 
constantly embroidered with the zigzag paths of 
the lightning. Thunder roared from peak to peak 
and rattled against the cliffs and echoed up and 
down the desolate canyons; and darkness as of 
night was gathering with surprising rapidity. 
But before the first drop of rain had splashed 
into the yellow dust, or the earliest whirl of the 
tornado had torn from its roots the weakest bush, 
the old man, breathless but successful, had reached 
the level brow of the hill and had disappeared 
among the trees that clothed it. 



CHAPTER VIII 

LECTURES US ON CLOUD-BURSTS, WITH AN 
ILLUSTRATION 

Ten minutes after Carter had returned and 
been scolded, the party was again on its way, 
leaving another note to Mr. Manning telling 
of their progress. The road was smooth and 
gradually ascending, but after a couple of miles 
the wagon was obliged to turn out some distance 
to get around the head of a washout ; and half a 
mile farther it was detained an hour in crossing 
another. The road was becoming increasingly 
difficult, and always rising, and about four o’clock 
the struggle over a third, though small, break in 
the line of the road snapped something in the har- 
55 


56 


An Island in the Air 


ness of the off-wheeler, and Zeph called “ Whoa ! ” 
in a hurry. Andy instantly dismounted and ran 
to help, but Zeph said he could fix it in a few 
moments, and so all sat down and watched him. 
Naturally they began to talk of the situation. 

“ What makes these great gullies, Andy ? I 
don’t see any water in them, or anything like a 
stream.” 

“ Why, Nan,” he answered her, “ they are cut 
out by one after another of the tremendous rain- 
storms which now and then fall here in summer. 
They don’t come often, but when they do they are 
terrors. I hope this hot still day won’t fetch one.” 

“ What brings them in a dry country like this ? ” 
asked Zeph, as usual anxious to learn the science 
of things. “ Don’t look as if it ever rained here 
in a decent way.” 

“ You fellows seem to be thirsting for informa- 
tion nowadays,” laughed the doctor ; “ but I can 
tell you if you really want to listen to a lecture.” 

“Yes — tell us.” And all gathered near enough 
for Zeph to hear as he tinkered at the harness — 
that is all, except Nig and Bimber. They were 
busy at a gopher-hole in the midst of a clump of 
sunflowers. Poor dogs ! they were living on rather 
short rations these days, and had taken to hunting 
on their own account. It was a case of “ root, hog, 
or die,” as Carter put it. 


C bud- bursts 


57 


“Well,” Andy began, “these snowy peaks we 
see are only a few of a great mass of mountains, 
as you know, some of them more than a mile 
in height above the plains and more than four- 
teen thousand feet above sea-level. They over- 
look a vast area of hot lowlands, which reach 
away off southward there into Mexico, not to 
speak of the deserts of Utah, west of them, which 
we have got to cross after a while — worse luck ! 
The sun, beating day after day on these almost 
shadeless plains, heats the ground until the air 
rises from it in waves of heat like those off a hot 
stove, as Nan said this morning.” 

“ I can feel it now,” sighed Cora, fanning her 
face with her hat. 

“ This volume of hot air,” Andy went on, “ is 
incessantly rolling upward and drifting against 
the mountain summits, whose snows it not only 
melts all summer long, but to a great extent ab- 
sorbs, because it is very dry. The rivers, there- 
fore, are steadily fed by this daily melting, but 
slowly (and more during the day than at night), 
so that they are small compared with those in a 
region of frequent rains. 

“ By this absorption of snow, increased by what 
moisture the high-blowing westerly winds bring 
from the Pacific, clouds are continually formed, 
and in early summer hang about the peaks, as 


58 


An Island in the Air 


you see them up there now, discharging frequent 
showers of snow on the summits and of rain lower 
down, often with severe thunder and lightning.” 

“ Then why doesn’t it rain often about here ? ” 
some one asked. 

“ Because the strong, uprising currents of warm 
air from these great, extra-hot southern plains 
force the clouds back from this face of the range. 
But let me go on with my lecture, for we must 
hurry forward and find a comfortable camping- 
place. I am afraid we shall have what the 
preachers call ‘a practical illustration’ of my 
remarks before long. 

“ Now it sometimes happens in midsummer 
that the air over and about one range or group 
of mountains becomes heavily charged with vapor, 
and at the same time a similar state of things 
comes into action in a neighboring district. The 
vapor may be invisible — no clouds to be seen 
at all, or perhaps a very few clustered about some 
peak at sunrise, and soon disappearing. Now 
let these two masses of vapor-charged air grad- 
ually drift toward one another and get within 
striking distance, as it were. If their density and 
temperature and electrical condition are nearly 
the same, they may blend without much disturb- 
ance, but as a rule they are different, and the 
process of mixing when they meet raises such a 


Cloud-bursts 


59 


ruction as makes one fear a second flood is at 
hand. These tremendous and noisy downpours 
are never very widely extended, but when they 
happen the water, they say, seems to fall in 
masses, as though the bottom had dropped out 
of a cistern, and I don’t wonder that mountain 
folks call them ‘ cloud-bursts.’ ” 

“ And they say they rip things up most particu- 
lar,” ejaculated Zeph. 

“Yes. You see, every bit of land in a moun- 
tain country is sloping one way or another, 
and much of it is hard rock and unforested. 
Every ridge sheds water like the roof of a house. 
Every hollow fills and overflows immediately. 
This overflow finds some little channel leading 
to a larger one, and in a moment torrents are 
leaping headlong, where before were dry and sandy 
gullies. These torrents join and gather, are con- 
stantly swelled by new cataracts, pitching and 
sliding down from cliffs and slopes, undermining 
rocks and trees, sweeping all the loose stuff away 
in a murky flood, and crushing rocks, logs, and 
boulders, or rolling them on with terrific noise 
and tumult. 

“ Dozens of the head-streams pour down and 
out of the high mountain ravines into the river- 
courses, where usually there trickle only shallow 
rills. The swollen flood rolls on with a grinding 


6o 


An Island in the Air 


roar, filling the channel to its brim, and the peo- 
ple say the river is booming . Now and then it 
breaks the banks and makes a new channel ; or 
some small side ravine, weakened by the last 
flood, gives way, eaten at the base and worn by 
the current above, until in a few moments or few 
hours it has deepened and broadened into a great 
V-shaped gulch, dividing two new-born hills which 
yesterday were united in a continuous ridge-like 
summit, and — ” 

“ There, that’s all honkidory,” interrupted Zeph, 
picking up the reins and climbing to the driver’s 
seat. “Oh, beg pardon, professor, — go ahead.” 

“ Don’t apologize,” Andy laughed back, as he 
rose. “ But, Nan, that’s the way these ravines 
have been cut in this mountain slope ; and it is 
one of the ways in which all the mountains are 
gradually worn away.” 


CHAPTER IX 


DESCRIBES A CATASTROPHE AND A NARROW 
ESCAPE 

The signs of a gathering storm, which had 
alarmed the Indian pilgrim down in the hot 
valley, and had already caused anxiety to our 
friends, were multiplying rapidly about the moun- 
tain tops. The northern sky was becoming filled 
with massive cloud-banks, which rose above into 
domes and towers glowing with sunlight, but 
below were fast hiding the summits behind a 
veil of dark and surging vapors. Puffs of cold 
wind swept down between the foot-hills, and now 
and then the gloomy mist-curtains would be rent 
asunder by a lightning stroke, revealing magnifi- 


62 


An Island in the Air 


cent glimpses of the range. It was as if a series 
of splendid but fearful pictures had been set in 
the gallery of the sky, with the high mountains 
for their easels. 

“ Seems to me we’d better be a-huntin’ camp,” 
said Zeph, chirruping to his team. “ If some o’ 
these ’ere dry creeks don’t get to boomin’ before 
long, I’ll say I’m a tenderfoot.” 

The mules were therefore urged to a faster 
gait, and the party pushed on, growing more and 
more uneasy, although the sun still blazed down 
upon them with a power that would have made 
the shade of the storm-clouds, at least, very agree- 
able. And, of course, the storm might expend 
itself wholly on the old hills so well used to it. 

“ They say this Rio Piedra we’re coming to is 
a terror when it’s up,” Carter remarked, by and 
by; “and I’ll bet you there’s a lot of gulches 
leading down to it that ain’t much less when a 
storm breaks, like that one a-buzzin’ up there 
on the range.” 

“ Where did you hear that ? ” Cora inquired, 
rather scornfully, as she ambled along beside him 
on Chestnut. 

“Talked with a fellow in Taos, who had been 
up here hunting, and he seemed to think we’d 
undertaken a pretty big job in trying to go West 
by this route.” 


A Catastrophe and a Narrow Escape 63 

While he was speaking they came to the end 
of a long ridge which for some time had cut off 
their view ahead, and turned to pass around its 
projecting foot. As they did so they found them- 
selves at the head of the largest ravine they had 
yet seen. Up here, to be sure, it was merely a 
gully, across which, after half an hour’s shovelling 
and filling, the team dragged the wagon with no 
great labor ; but it deepened and widened toward 
the south into a vast triangular gulch. Looking 
downward, they could see that it opened below, 
only a mile or so away, into a canyon-valley, 
extending east and west along the base of the 
range; and its steeply sloping walls were sur- 
mounted on the farther side, at least, by pictu- 
resque cliffs of rock. Standing higher than the 
tops of these cliffs, our friends could see that 
they were the exposed front of a table-land, or 
mesa , as the Spanish New-Mexicans call it, which 
extended southward apparently to the horizon, 
fairly level with the terrace upon which the party 
now stood. 

“ It’s like a great castle with a moat in front of 
it,” exclaimed Annie, who loved the romantic 
way of looking at things. 

“ Off south there,” said Andy, pointing across 
the yellowish cedar-dotted mesa, “ lies the canyon 
of the big Rio San Juan, and all these gulches 


64 An Island in the Air 

and stream-beds carry the water from the moun- 
tains down through narrow gorges or canyons 
to help fill it.” 

They could no longer see any signs of a road 
or trail, but felt sure it must lead down the 
western brink of the great gulch whose head 
they had just passed, for there was really no- 
where else to drive. The ravine dropped away 
upon their left hand more and more steeply, 
while the rocks of the mountain side at their 
right became increasingly precipitous, leaving 
them a terrace-like path, which grew narrower 
and narrower. When at last the headland had 
been rounded, a second was seen to bar the way 
a short distance ahead, but to reach it required a 
long inward detour around the gap left in the 
roadway by a huge, and evidently recent, land- 
slide. This was very discouraging, for it was 
now nearly five o’clock, the storm might burst 
upon them any moment, and all were very tired. 
Even Bimber had long ago begged to be taken 
up into the wagon, where Annie was sitting 
beside Zeph, whose jaws were set in a grim 
way, very different from the usually sunny grin 
that lighted up his rugged features. 

But here was no place to encamp. There was 
no wood, no water, no grass, no shelter against 
the wrath of wind or rain. It would be more 


A Catastrophe and a Narrow Escape 65 

than uncomfortable — it would be positively peril- 
ous to try it. It was useless to turn back. Noth- 
ing much better was to be found for five miles on 
the back trail. Andy galloped ahead a ways, and 
then beckoned to them to come on. 

“ There are some trees over there,” he called 
out as the wagon came up, at the same time point- 
ing southwestward ; “ and it looks as if we could 
reach them, so let’s make a rush and try to get 
there before the rain comes — I’ve felt a few drops 
already.” 

They pressed the weary animals forward as fast 
as they could go over the rough ground until at 
last they rounded the head of the gulch and turned 
their faces outward from the rocky hillside, over 
a surface that was more open and smooth, toward 
the trees which now seemed not more than half 
a mile away. 

This move soon brought them out again into 
view of the tops of the mountains, whose crest 
had been hidden for a time, and they saw that the 
blue-black clouds now enveloped the whole range, 
and were momently torn and shot through by 
lightning bolts; but they went but a few rods 
when they were again halted, for here, just where 
they wished to advance, was the V-shaped head 
of a new arroyo, which opened outward and down- 
ward into a vast mountain gulch on the farther 


66 


An Island in the Air 


side. A small ridge of crumbling soil and loose 
stones, scarcely a dozen yards in width, alone sepa- 
rated it from the gulch they had come around, 
and which, as they could now see, emptied far 
below on the left into the head, or, in fact, really 
was the bent head, of the great “ moat ” they had 
seen half an hour before. So deeply had this 
new westerly cut on their right worn back, that 
not only the road, but all place for one in advance, 
had been eaten away by the rushing waters of 
some former cloud-burst. It was plain that the 
next attack would very likely wash away a part 
of the separating ridge on which they stood, and 
which at present formed a high narrow causeway 
straight toward the trees. 

“ You can see how this has come about,” said 
Andy, pointing to the mountain side in which a 
great trough led directly down to this point. “ A 
snowslide has cleaned that out within a few years, 
and made a regular channel for storm-waters. 
There’s a little brook, you see, tumbling down 
it now ; and it is plain that whenever a big rush 
comes down, the flood splits on this ridge and runs 
down both gulches, at the same time wearing it 
away on both slopes.” 

“Well, that’s O.K., I guess; but the conun- 
drum is, What are we fellows going to do? 
We’re in a tight fix!” 


A Catastrophe and a Narrow Escape 67 

“ There’s only one thing to do, Zeph. Go 
along this ridge to the trees over there and 
camp ; and to-morrow morning we’ll hurry back 
and stop father as quick as we can. It’s lucky 
we explored this road in advance of the big outfit 
But we must go right away, and make time, too.” 

“ I’ve got to water the critters first, anyhow,” 
Zeph declared. “ They’re crazy with thirst, and 
I’ll bet there’s no drink for them among those 
scraggy cedars.” 

The two boys hastily brought pails of water 
from the brook to the mules, while the girls led 
the horses to a pool. Then Cora, after a glance 
at the sky, unsaddled Chestnut and threw the 
saddle into the wagon, after which she tied the 
pony’s halter to the tail-board and got in with 
Annie, just as Zeph started his team. 

“D’ye hear that /” he exclaimed, as a terrific 
crash of thunder almost stunned their ears, and a 
stream of stones went rattling down the gulches. 
“ Gosh ! It’ll be boulders flyin’ next. G’lang, 
mules! We must get out o’ this, or we’ll go 
a-rollin’, too. There’s no tellin’ when this loose 
stuff under the wheels’ll slide out. It’s more like 
brown sugar than earth. Get up ! ” 

But there was no need of yelling and whipping 
at the mules. They seemed to know the con- 
dition of things, and were more frightened than 


68 


An Island in the Air 


their driver. Their leap forward broke Chestnut’s 
halter, but he followed hard and fast, and, just as 
Andy dashed ahead with Jim on the run, down 
came a curtain of darkness, a roar of wind, and a 
volley of hail. That was enough. It was hard 
pulling, but anything, the mules thought, was 
better than the beating hail. They took the bits 
in their teeth and raced after Andy and his gallop- 
ing horse. Zeph knew they were running away, 
and braced his feet to try to keep them straight 
— though he could see little himself in the dark- 
ness and the murk of rain. 

Carter was carried by, clinging to his pommel 
for dear life, while his horse rushed headlong for 
the woods. The ambulance swayed and bounced, 
and it was almost a miracle it didn’t turn over 
and roll to the bottom on one side or the other 
of the slender track. The girls were tumbled 
about, but succeeded after a while in dropping 
and fastening the rear curtain, which kept out 
some of the storm that seemed to force them 
along, and threatened to drown them like the 
overwhelming of a ship by a following sea. The 
full fury of a Rocky Mountain cloud-burst had 
struck the party. It was awful ! and they were 
destined to see and suffer by such effects of it as 
they had never dreamed of. Fortunately, the dis- 
tance was not great, or the story must needs stop 


A Catastrophe and a Narrow Escape 69 

right here, when, in fact, it is just beginning to 
be interesting. 

Andy and Carter, fast outrunning the ambu- 
lance, brought their horses to a stand amid a 
dense group of pinon pines and cedars, and, has- 
tily knotting their bridles to trees, fought their 
way back to the aid of the others, sick with fear 
of what they might see. 

They met the team a hundred yards back, in 
the very narrowest and weakest part of the ridge, 
where a crumbling slope fell away on each side 
almost from the wheels to unknown depths — it 
was too dark to see how or where. The soil was 
so loose it crushed and slid away under hoofs and 
tires, and threatened to carry the wagon with it. 
The rain seemed fairly to dig it up as well as to 
wash it away. The mules, out of breath and ter- 
rified by the place, had stopped and were plunging 
about in frantic excitement. Seizing the bridles 
of the leaders, the boys pulled and drove with the 
energy of a struggle against death, and at last 
forced the team beyond this dangerous hollow to 
firmer ground, where the animals recovered con- 
fidence somewhat, and so at last dragged their 
burden into the safety of the trees. 

Hastily unharnessing the mules, and unsaddling 
the horses, the lads turned them loose to seek what 
shelter they could ; and themselves, drenched as 


70 


An Island in the Air 


though they had been swimming in the torrents 
whose roar came up to their ears from the gulches, 
crept inside the ambulance and dropped breath- 
less upon the cargo. 

Now they could rig up the front curtain and 
lace the others securely and keep dry; and this 
done, Bimber, who to his voluble indignation had 
been pitched into the wagon before the fracas, 
crept timidly into Cora’s lap, and all felt snug 
except poor Nig, who was cowering under the 
wagon, whimpering with cold and fright. 



CHAPTER X 

RETURNS TO MR. MANNING AND HIS ANXIETIES 

Storms so terrific as this had been are, fortu- 
nately, never widespread. Back at Mr. Manning’s 
camp its approach had been carefully noted, 
and, fearful of heavy rain, Mr. Manning sent 
John to collect the cattle and tie them near 
the wagon, while he and Hannah prepared the 
camp. 

It was well these precautions were taken, for, 
though by no means equal to the small tornado 
that struck the boys on the lofty ridge, a very 
heavy wind came, and for a short time the ground 
was white with water. Mrs. Manning’s tent was 
sound, however, and her husband and Hannah sat 


71 


An Island in the Air 


72 

beside her, while John took refuge inside the big 
wagon. 

But the good mother had little thought for her- 
self — all her anxiety was for her sons and daugh- 
ters up on the mountain. 

“Oh, do you think they are safe?” was her 
question over and over. 

“ Why, of course they are,” Mr. Manning would 
reply, while Hannah would say : “Now don’ you 
worry, honey. Nuffin’ won’t happen to do no 
harm while young Marse Andy’s ’long. Dat 
boy’ll carry ’em froo anything, — not to say nuffin’ 
’bout dat limb o’ Satan Zeph McAllistah. I ain’ 
feared for dose chillen at all.” 

“Oh, they’ll camp somewhere,” Mr. Manning 
would add. “ Then they’ll crawl into the wagon 
and wait till it blows over. My only anxiety is 
whether they can keep the stock from straying, 
and so not lose time in the morning.” 

“ Then we can catch up with them all the 
sooner,” the fond mother exclaimed, finding what 
advantage she could in the calamity and so quiet- 
ing her fears. 

The wind fell about sundown and the rain 
gradually subsided. Day broke in a clear sky, 
and the sun rose, hot and splendid, as if no such 
disturbances had ever existed as clouds and 
storm. Encouraged by the brightness, and eager 


73 


Mr. Manning and bis Anxieties 

in the thought of soon rejoining her children, 
Mrs. Manning declared herself strong again, and 
an hour after sunrise the party were once again 
on the march. 

For a while they had no difficulty in following 
the old trail, aided by the track of the ambulance. 
But by and by, as they advanced higher and 
higher, the road became obscure and arduous. 
In some places a torrent had rushed down, leav- 
ing a layer of gravel, sand, and broken branches 
along the path; or had swept away from the 
surface all marks of the wheels ; or had ploughed 
gullies crosswise. Now and then these gullies 
were troublesome to cross, and before long John 
who was riding in advance, came back to say that 
there was a new one ahead which he feared would 
be impassable. 

“ Can’t we repair the break ? ” Mr. Manning 
asked cheerfully. 

“ I reckon so. We can try, anyhow.” 

This washout was forty or fifty yards wide and 
ten or fifteen feet deep, but half an hour’s labor 
with pickaxe and shovel sufficed to cut a sloping 
descent in its bank. Then the wagon was driven 
down it, and on over the rough, stony bottom 
of the trench and hauled up on the other side 
through another sloping excavation. 

Thus laboring slowly along the trail the sturdy 


74 


An Island in the Air 


oxen brought them about 4 p.m. to the place 
where the young people had made their first 
night’s camp. The first thing that struck their 
eyes, almost, was Andy’s letter pegged to the log 
by the fireplace. They already knew that the 
boys intended to go ahead a piece as explorers, 
because the Mexican trapper had faithfully de- 
livered his message, “ con mucho gusto? as he 
gallantly replied to Mrs. Manning’s thanks; but 
this gave them news of the successful bighorn 
hunt, and both were proud of Andy’s first cap- 
ture. It also told them of the good night’s 
rest, and the high spirits in which all had started 
forward. 

They, too, passed a pleasant night. John 
reported that the oxen fed well, and they began 
their march next morning both refreshed and 
encouraged. This feeling increased as the day 
wore on and no one came back to meet them, as 
Andy had promised, for Mr. Manning considered 
it a sign that the road was good, and there was 
no need to send back any guide. It was steadily 
but gradually up hill, and oxen walk slowly, so 
that what the mules had easily done in four hours 
took them eight ; and the afternoon was well ad- 
vanced, and they had begun to keep an eye out 
for the ambulance, expecting to see it, or a tent, 
each time they surmounted one of the many low 


75 


Mr. Manning and bis Anxieties 

ridges, when they suddenly came to the brink of 
the first of the big washouts which the scouting 
party had encountered. And there in the middle 
of the trail was Cora’s note in the split stick, 
which the girl had planted so firmly that not even 
the violence of the great storm had been able to 
throw it down. 

But it was evident that the rush of water had 
deepened and broadened the gulch considerably ; 
and when Mr. Manning, as directed, rode up to 
where the boys had easily crossed its source, he 
saw at a glance that the storm had so changed it 
that instead of an hour’s work, a week’s labor 
would hardly suffice to make the place passable 
for the schooner. 

Later his wife and John walked up with him, 
and both saw what a barrier the gulch presented. 
Then Mr. Manning scrambled down afoot, scaled 
(by no means easily) the steep and crumbling 
farther bank, and shaving a quaking asp wrote 
with his pencil upon the hard white wood a mes- 
sage to Andy, saying that he would go back a 
couple of miles to a good camp-ground he had 
passed, and wait for word from them. 

“ It will be much easier to get the light am- 
bulance back across that ditch, than this great 
wagon,” he explained as he returned. 

So the oxen were turned around, and before 


76 


An Island in the Air 


sunset a pleasant camp was made beside the little 
stream he had had in mind. Then Mr. Manning 
started out with his rifle, and before he had been 
gone fifteen minutes they heard a shot and soon 
saw him coming gayly in with a deer on his 
shoulder — greatly to Hannah’s delight. 

To their anxious disappointment no word was 
received next day from the children ; and on the 
second morning Mr. Manning announced that he 
was going to see what had become of them, fear- 
ing that the storm had upset the wagon, or caused 
some other accident. 

He rode to the gulch-crossing, John walking 
by his side to bring back the horse, and then went 
on afoot, carrying his rifle, army field-glasses, and 
a long slender rope. 

. With more or less difficulty he traced their 
course, scrambling in and out of the enlarged 
gulches where the ambulance had crossed, and by 
two o’clock reached the last of the great washouts 
that had checked their progress. Here a torrent 
was still leaping down the mountain trough, which 
he crossed with danger and difficulty. The wheel- 
tracks led along its farther side, next the rocks, 
and he followed them readily to the extremity of 
the point of rocks, where they sharply ended at 
the brink of a deep gulf, along the bottom of 
which, a hundred feet below, and next to the per- 


77 


Mr. Manning and his Anxieties 

pendicular wall of rocks which formed its farther 
side, rushed a heavy stream of water, thick with 
mud and gravel and boughs of trees. It was evi- 
dent that this was the outlet of many streams, all 
booming after the recent rainfall. Just below him 
some rocks made a dam, where a great quantity 
of debris had caught, and he searched it with his 
glasses for the remains of the ambulance, but 
nothing of the kind appeared. He continued the 
fearful search as far up and down the canyon as 
his powerful binoculars would reach, but had no 
reward. So he took courage and came to the 
conclusion that the ambulance had gone on 
around the point of rocks; but he could not 
follow. Its base was now far down in the pit, 
and its walls were unclimbable. The mystery 
could not be solved to-day, at any rate, and after 
firing his rifle three times and getting no response, 
he reluctantly tramped homeward, where he 
arrived after nightfall, very weary and with a sad 
tale for the waiting mother. 

Mr. Manning stoutly maintained his opinion 
that the youngsters were all right, and now 
beyond the mountain spur, where they had been 
cut off by the landslides and washouts which 
after they had passed had taken away the earth, 
probably a narrow terrace upon which they had 
driven. He believed that if an object like the 


78 


An Island in the Air 


ambulance had fallen into the gulch, some trace 
of it, at least, would appear among the debris at 
the dam. 

“ We can’t leave you women here alone ; and 
one man could do no good by going to search 
again. It is likely much easier for one of them 
to cross over the spur of the mountain and come 
to us.” 

So they waited. But no one came, and all that 
it seemed possible to do was to go back to the 
settlements on the Rio Grande and send out a 
party of men to search. 

This meant ten days’ marching before Fernando 
de Taos was reached, which was the first town 
where they could get intelligent aid. But here 
no one could be found to go. The only feasible 
route was by way of the Rio San Juan valley, and 
of that the settlers were afraid, because that was 
Navajo country. Those Indians were known 
to be on the war-path against the Mokis and 
other tribes south and west of them, and the Rio 
Grande Indians and their Mexican friends knew 
that the Navajos would jump on them as quick 
as any one else if they got the chance. 

It was necessary, therefore, to journey back to 
Santa Fe; but here all the troops and most of the 
able-bodied men of the place were found to be off 
on an expedition protecting emigrants and settlers 


79 


Mr. Manning and his Anxieties 

from raiding Comanches and Apaches down the 
river, and nothing could be done till they re- 
turned. 

“ When will that be ? ” impatiently cried the 
distracted father. 

“ Quien sabe ? ” was the only answer. 



MAKES A STARTLING DISCOVERY 

The cold and hunger and distress in which the 
boys and girls passed that night in the ambulance 
need not be described. If you can’t imagine it, 
description would be of no use, and the details 
wouldn’t interest you. They got out dry coats 
and waistcoats, pulled off their wet boots, wrapped 
themselves in blankets, and managed to get broken 
hours of sleep, but earliest daylight saw them all 
awake and creeping out. 

The storm had quite ended. The air was cool, 
the sky clear, and the sun rose round and red 
over the level-topped ridges until it gilded the few 
freshly snowy summits thrust above the mists 

80 


A Startling Discovery 81 

that still enveloped all the lower part of the 
range. 

Its rays revealed to our adventurers that they 
were in the edge of a wood of cedars, pines, and 
bushes, which was rather open and seemed to 
extend indefinitely southward; while northward, 
and only a short distance away, rose the rocky 
foot-hills, where the storm had overtaken them 
yesterday. 

Nothing was to be seen of any of the animals; 
and while Carter began to look about for dry 
wood, his teeth chattering the while, and to split 
kindling out of the middle of a cedar log in order 
to start a fire, Andy and Zeph marched away in 
search of the horses and mules. The girls hast- 
ened to bring breakfast things from the wagon, 
and in half an hour or so had hot coffee steaming 
on the embers and a fair meal spread upon a box ; 
and just at the right moment the two absentees 
returned. 

“ Didn’t you find the stock ? ” 

“ Not a hoof of ’em ! ” 

“ Oh, is Chestnut lost ? ” cried the girls, with 
one voice, springing up as if they meant to run 
after him then and there, and forgetting for the 
moment all the other and really more important 
animals. 

“ No such luck,” growled Carter, and got a 


82 


An Island in the Air 


rattling good whack on the ear from his exas- 
perated sister. 

The boy leaped to his feet with blazing eyes, and 
Cora was ready, but Zeph grabbed his collar and 
after a struggle got him down and sat on him. 

“ Now listen, you pesky wildcat. When you 
try to strike a girl, even if she is your sister, an’ 
I’m round, you may expect to hear from me every 
time.” 

“ She hit me first ! ” yelled the boy, his mouth 
so full of pine-needles and Bimber making such 
a row the words could hardly be heard. 

“ Don’t care. She had a right to, you was that 
aggravatin’. Anyhow, she says she’s sorry. Now 
get up and eat your breakfast ! ” 

And Zeph leaped off. 

Carter picked himself up, and glanced at Andy, 
as if he expected his “ big brother ” would take 
his part. But Andy was paying no attention — 
didn’t seem to know anything had happened. 
Annie looked as if she wanted to cry, and Cora 
as if she wanted to laugh. 

“ I guess Chestnut is with the rest of the stock, 
and probably they’re not far off,” said Andy. 
“We found a ridge back here in the woods a ways, 
and from the top of it we could see a good bit of 
open land off to the southward. I presume the 
animals are out there quietly eating their fill of 


A Startling Discovery 83 

better grass than they have tasted for some time. 
Zeph and I concluded we’d get some breakfast 
before we went and spoiled theirs.” 

“ Most particular,” added Zeph, “ seein’ we ain’t 
had none since yesterday, and no supper since 
the day before that.” 

The meal was eaten hastily, and with only one 
drawback to comfort. This was the absence of 
good drinking water, for there was no spring or 
stream near them, so that nothing better could 
be had than the half-muddy rainwater which had 
been caught in some hollows of the rocks — and 
little enough of that. 

“ Let’s walk back and see where we came last 
night, before you go after the horses,” Annie sug- 
gested. “ It won’t take long, and I for one am 
curious.” 

So all set out along the wagon’s track, which 
they found had not been altogether washed out by 
the deluge. Presently Zeph stopped and pointed 
at an imprint in the soft ground. 

“ Look there. Ain’t that a deer track? ” 

“ It must be,” Andy agreed as he stooped down 
and examined the two little prints of the split 
hoofs, side by side. “ And see, there’s another.” 

“ And here’s some more,” cried one of the girls 
who had joined the three. 

It was plain that a band of deer had raced past 


8 4 


An Island in the Air 


them in the night, evidently running very fast, as 
if fleeing away from the mountains, and apparently 
about at the time they themselves had passed 
there, for the tracks were no fresher than those 
of the horses and mules — and hardly farther 
apart. It was evident both were a-jumping. 

“ Pity we didn’t get a shot at ’em,” Zeph ex- 
claimed. 

“ Fine shooting you’d ’a’ done in that gale,” 
retorted Cora, who never lost an opportunity to 
spar with the boy and wasn’t softened any by his 
recent championship. 

“ From the way they scud along here amongst 
us it looks as though I could have caught one by 
its horns — or even by its tail.” 

“ Maybe they were as badly scared as the rest 
of us,” said Annie. 

Meanwhile all walked rapidly on, following the 
wheel-tracks, which presently led them out of the 
trees and loose soil upon a stony surface. All 
this was quite new to them, for in the darkness 
and tempest and rush they had seen nothing, 
though the girls remembered bouncing over these 
stones. Hardly a hundred yards of this were 
passed when everybody was suddenly halted by a 
most amazing sight. Without an instant’s warn- 
ing they had nearly stepped off the brink of a 
cliff right across their path, and found themselves 


85 


A Startling Discovery 

staring down into a chasm, in the bottom of 
which whirlpools of muddy water were racing 
away to the westward. They had crossed no 
bridge, nor had they forded any river in their 
flight — certainly they could not have crossed this 
frightful hole, and yet their wheel-tracks were 
plainly to be seen leading straight to the very 
edge of the precipice, and apparently over it! 
And beyond the chasm they recognized the 
promontory of rocks they had skirted, and the 
place where they had watered the mules — but 
both seemed changed. The rocks were far 
higher, and the brook had become a great 
cataract ! 

No one was needed to explain what had hap- 
pened, after their wits had recovered from the 
first surprise. 

This chasm had been made by rushing waters. 
A tremendous flood had swept down the trough 
in the mountain, had struck the soft ridge, sluiced 
it out on both sides, and carried away all the 
loose and crumbling causeway along which they 
had been dragged so perilously in the darkness 
by their runaway team. In its place there was 
now a ravine, whose cliff-like face dropped be- 
neath their feet as straight and smooth as the 
side of a house ; and every one could see that the 
cut was steadily growing wider and deeper under 


86 


An Island in the Air 


the teeth of the torrents of water still tumbling 
down the various gulches from a thousand gather- 
ing sources far up in the range. 

“ Why, how can we ever get back to the road ? ” 
cried Cora, — the first who spoke. 

“ We cant get back — at any rate across here,” 
said Andy. “ No living man could go down this 
cliff without a rope-ladder a hundred feet long.” 

“ Where shall we go ? ” Cora continued anx- 
iously, her eyes fixed upon the two ravines broad- 
ening and deepening right and left. 

“ I don’t know, girlie,” was all her brother 
could answer, as his eyes followed her gaze along 
the brink of the cliffs and into the depths of the 
booming gulches. 



CONTAINS MUCH BAD LUCK 

Very quietly the little group turned their backs 
upon the chasm which the cloudburst had cut be- 
tween them and the mountain, and returned to 
the ambulance and their little fireside. The sun 
still shone, a gentle wind rustled among the pine 
boughs, inquiring how they had passed the tem- 
pestuous night, and a rock-wren, which had 
strayed up upon this height, was pouring out his 
brilliant melody, as happy as only a bird can be. 
But these bright sights and sounds were little 
noticed, for a feeling of dread and impending 
trouble weighed down the hearts and faces of all 
our friends and kept them silent. Each was 
87 


88 


An Island in the Air 


busied with his or her own thoughts, but all, we 
may be sure, ran to the same sad tune: how 
were they to get back to the road and join father 
and mother ? 

“ Certainly the first thing to do,” said Andy, 
with decision, voicing the common thought, “is 
to find the stock. Come on, you fellows. Take 
good care of things, girls.” 

“ Oh, don’t leave us here all alone ! ” cried both 
sisters in chorus, their faces full of alarm. 

“ Why, what are you afraid of ? ” 

“ It’s so lonesome ! ” was all they could say, 
at first, but in the next breath found more reasons 
— “ wildcats, bears , Indians,” ran the list in a scale 
of growing terrors. 

“ Nonsense ! Nothing will harm you. We 
won’t be gone long, anyhow. Come on, boys.” 

“ Oh, please let us go too ! ” the girls persisted 
plaintively. 

“ Now what foolishness ! ” exclaimed Andy, im- 
patiently ; and Zeph added, “ Who’s goin’ to take 
care of the wagon if you don’t stay here ? ” 

“ What’s the use of any one guarding the 
wagon if no harm is coming? — and if there is, 
I don’t want to face it all alone,” argued Annie, 
supported by Cora’s “Nor I ! ” 

But the boys were obdurate and marched off, 
leaving the girls to drop down on a log and weep, 


Much Bad Luck 


89 


whereupon Bimber set up a howl so sharp and 
sudden that the sisters, thinking for an instant it 
was a wolf, rushed into each other’s arms and 
cracked their heads together until they howled 
louder than Bimber, and with better reason. 
Clinging close together, they rubbed their heads 
and looked furtively over their shoulders, half 
expecting to see something terrible at their el- 
bows. Bimber “ sat up ” inquiringly, asking in 
the clearest way he knew what they proposed to 
do next and where his part came in, but got no 
attention. He did not know what to do. Nig 
had been called away and gone off with the boys, 
and his mistress seemed to have gone daft. The 
little dog was naturally puzzled, and judged him- 
self thrown back upon his own resources. The 
idea suddenly struck him that he was being left 
out of some fun which that old black Nig was 
enjoying, and he whirled round, hoisted his ears, 
and sprang away, only to be hauled back by his 
stump of a tail and told of his meanness in de- 
serting his mistress in her dire distress in a sharper 
voice than he had heard for some time. This 
hurt his feelings. It was, he felt, unjust. It 
seemed to him she had deserted him first, and he 
had followed a very natural and proper impulse 
in starting after his other friends. But he was a 
discerning and a forgiving doggie; and feeling 


90 


An Island in the Air 


that something had happened beyond his com- 
prehension, he wagged his aching tail resignedly, 
and said he’d stay and see the thing through. 
What a noble devotion this little dog really had 
Cora was to find out later. 

The rock-wren still spluttered and sang on the 
service-berry bush, and the breeze rustled the 
grasses and presently dried the tears. 

“ How still it is ! ” whispered Annie, paying no 
attention to the breeze or rattling music of the 
wren, who was doing his level best to cheer up 
these sad young ladies. 

“ Wasn’t it dreadful of them to leave us ? Let’s 
get into the ambulance.” 

“ Oh, no ! no ! ” Annie cried, glancing swiftly 
behind her as if she had heard the swish of 
a ghost’s robe. “We couldn’t see anything 
there ! ” 

One would naturally think that fact a high 
advantage, judging by their fearsome eyes, and 
the way they started at every sound ; but one 
can never be sure of anything in the case of 
two girls — or even one ! 

But after all these maids were too healthy to 
keep up this sort of thing, and it was not long 
before they came back to common sense and 
made up their minds that they would follow 
after their brothers — thinking the risk of get- 


Much Bad Luck 


91 


ting lost, or anything else, better than remain- 
ing quietly at the wagon. 

So hand in hand they ran through the sweet- 
smelling woods, and Bimber, satisfied that their 
lost wits had been recovered, bounded ahead, 
looking back every few steps to make sure they 
were following, and searching the ground with 
his keen black nose for traces of the party ahead. 
He meant to overtake them if possible before 
Nig had monopolized all the sport. The ground 
was carpeted with needles and almost dry, in spite 
of the rain; and before long they came to the 
foot of a rocky bank which, like a vast ruined wall, 
ran across the woods in front of them. It was 
not very high and they began at once to climb 
it, remembering Andy’s saying at breakfast that 
from the top of this ridge one could overlook a 
wide plain. They took a step forward, and halted, 
frozen in their tracks, clutching one another’s hands 
till their finger nails almost cut the soft flesh. A 
hoarse, gurgling, squeaking sound, such as they 
had never heard in their lives, seemed to come 
out of the thicket right beside them. Neither 
could move a step. They dared not turn their 
heads. “ Why didn’t that miserable dog do some- 
thing to defend them ? ” was the thought in each 
mind. Suddenly the bush broke into a harsh 
scream, like some horrible old maniac laughing 


92 


An Island in the Air 


at their terror and meaning the next instant to 
spring at their throats ; and at this dreadful men- 
ace they spun round and fled like the wind, yet 
not so quickly that they did not catch sight of a 
large black-and-white bird sweeping away through 
the pines with a roguish whistle, as if in glee over 
the consternation it had caused. 

“ Only a magpie ! ” Annie panted, and as their 
eyes met both laughed, but rather nervously. 
“ What a pair of ninnies to be upset by a bird ! 
Even Bim is laughing at us — look at the rascal, 
both ears up in impertinent astonishment ! ” 

“ I don’t care ! ” Cora cried stoutly, and her 
sister understood her. 

So they turned back and valiantly retraced 
their steps, but they still clasped hands very 
tightly and kept their eyes open very wide. 

“See there /” Annie had stopped short and 
was pointing at a small clump of grass grow- 
ing in an open space among the trees. 

“ Don’t you see that thing moving? ” 

Cora did look and did see something move — 
something alive and furry. Both stared, stand- 
ing stock-still, because too frightened to run, gaz- 
ing at a round head with two great eyes distinctly 
visible among the tops of the tall grass. 

“ Wh-h-h-h-h ! ” began one, trying to say some- 
thing in a whisper through her chattering teeth, 


Much Bad Luck 


93 

when the head bobbed above the tussock and two 
long ears sprang upright. 

“ Aouw ! ” squealed the girls, and jumped as if 
moved by one and the same spring; and once 
more the dog had the laugh on them and got 
all the fun there was, for like a shot he was off 
after a — jack-rabbit. 

By the time he had given up the chase and 
come joyously back the sisters had talked it over, 
and steeled their hearts and stiffened their knees 
(or thought they had) against any more foolish 
fright. There really was some excuse for them, 
and the pluck with which they returned to the 
charge and again and again set their faces for- 
ward must be placed to their credit. They were 
pretty badly scared, but not yet demoralized. So 
again they began slowly clambering up the ridge, 
while Bimber dodged about their feet in the bushes 
intent upon his own affairs. 

Panting with terror and their exertions together, 
they gained the top, and Cora, pushing aside a 
fringe of bushes, was just about stepping out on 
the summit of the ridge, when Bimber, bristling 
like a porcupine, broke into a hurricane of bark- 
ing, and, with a blood-curdling scream, Cora 
sprang back, knocking over Annie, and jumped, 
rolled, and slid down the slope, her sister shriek- 
ing at her heels, and they never stopped till both, 


94 


An Island in the Air 


and the bewildered dog with them, were hidden 
under a pile of blankets behind the ambulance 
curtains. 

What had put these brave maidens to rout so 
ignominiously this time ? 

An Indian — a real, live, painted Indian, crouch- 
ing in the brush, ready to spring, as they believed, 
upon the unsuspecting victim who had parted the 
twigs just before his savage face. 



CHAPTER XIII 

FURNISHES A CHOICE ASSORTMENT OF DIFFICULTIES 

Huddling there in the hot ambulance, in con- 
stant expectation of seeing a scalping-knife flash- 
ing round their heads, minutes passed like hours, 
so that really it may not have been so long as it 
seemed before the stifling warmth and continued 
quiet and their curiosity, all together, forced the 
girls to peep cautiously out from the depths of 
their bedding. 

“ Besides,” whispered Annie, “ if he had followed 
us, Bimber would be growling, instead of going 
to sleep and snoring like an ungrateful pig.” 

So they poked their heads out timidly and 
looked abroad. No one was perched on the 


96 


An Island in the Air 


driver’s seat, at least, and encouraged by the 
absence of all noises save the unconcerned carol- 
ling of that same cheerful rock-wren, they crept 
first to a little hole in the curtain, whence they 
could reconnoitre, then to the front end, and 
finally, after talking it over, they descended to the 
ground. 

“Well, I’m sure we have had good reason to 
be scared, haven’t we, Cote ? ” Annie argued in 
self-defence. “You know how papa is always 
cautioning us against Indians ; and think of all 
the horrible stories about their torturing white 
people and taking girls away into captivity.” 

“ I’m going to try not to think of it,” Cora 
answered bravely. “ I mean to load Andy’s shot- 
gun, and if any Indians come, I’ll shoot — one , 
anyhow — see if I don’t!” 

And when this had been done (the percussion- 
cap was forgotten, but let us not mention it) and 
the gun had been placed close beside them, they 
mustered their reserves of pluck, and went at 
clearing away the breakfast dishes, and afterward 
at making their simple preparations for another 
meal, still very watchful, but with more calmness 
than one would think possible who knew of their 
nervous panic an hour before. In fact, a real 
danger is far more easily faced than some imagi- 
nary one; and the feeling that they were nearly 


A Choice Assortment of Difficulties 97 

powerless, anyhow, gave them a kind of resigna- 
tion to fate, which took the place of coolness. 
But as the morning passed and nothing disturbed 
its serenity, the natural buoyancy of youth asserted 
itself, they forgot to talk in whispers, and Annie 
even caught herself singing. 

Nevertheless the place was lonesome, and it 
was with a feeling of intense relief that, after the 
sun had well started on his way down the after- 
noon sky, a ringing whoop was heard, and Andy 
came galloping into camp on the bare back of his 
own horse, with the boy up behind, and Zeph 
sticking like a burr on Chestnut. 

“ Oh, how glad we are you have come back ! ” 
cried both the girls, their half-forgotten fears sud- 
denly reviving ; and tears of excitement and relief 
sprang to their eyes as they felt themselves once 
more under protection. 

The boys listened to all their story (minus the 
unimportant little incidents of the magpie and 
jack-rabbit !), were immensely interested, and asked 
all sorts of questions ; but Annie had never had 
any glimpse at all of “ that horrid savage,” and 
Cora hadn’t stopped to examine his appearance 
in the least, so that neither could add much to the 
simple fact that he had been seen. 

“ It’s a pity you were so scared, my dear,” said 
Andy, as he knotted a horsehair lariat around the 

H 


9 8 


An Island in the Air 


neck of his horse and slipped the bridle off, “ but 
I don’t think the Indian meant any harm, or he 
would have followed you ; and I’m not sure but 
it is a good thing you saw him, for it may help 
us out of this, and I’m ’fraid we’ll need it.” 

“ Why — can’t we go away ? ” asked the girls, 
with alarm. 

“ Not till we find some new road.” 

“And a pretty long one at that,” Zeph added. 

“ Oh, do tell us what you have seen ! ” 

“ Well, we went on over that ridge you tried to 
climb — which is really a rocky bank, for its top 
is the level plain — and finally found some mule- 
tracks turning to the left. We followed ’em 
along for half a mile, I should say, and then came 
out upon the edge of a cliff like that we saw this 
morning, only five times higher. We could look 
’way off across the canyon to the mountains and 
over toward father’s camp, so that we knew it 
was the same big gulch along the other side of 
which we travelled yesterday. The cliffs stretched 
southward for a dozen miles or more, and it’ll take 
a long march to get beyond them.” 

“ Couldn’t you see anything of the schooner? ” 

“ Not a sign of it ! ” 

“ I don’t believe father could follow our trail 
anyhow,” Carter interrupted, “’cause there were 
big landslides last night.” 


A Choice Assortment of Difficulties 99 

“ New ones, too,” Zeph added seriously, “ that 
must ’a’ washed out the road in a dozen places.” 

Annie was patting Chestnut’s neck, whispering 
how glad she was to get him back, and how 
naughty he had been to run away. Suddenly 
she lifted her head: — 

“ But where are the mules ? ” 

“No telling. We found their trail, though. 
All the animals had wandered along down the 
brink of the cliff, as if looking for a place to get 
down, for a mile or so, and then their tracks 
turned sharp to the west, and on the run, as if 
something had scared them. We followed as 
fast as we could, and by and by saw them a long 
ways off.” 

“You bet it was a long ways,” murmured Car- 
ter, who was lying on the ground, almost tired 
out. 

“ After a lot of trouble we managed to get a 
grip on these two, but Carter’s old mare and 
the mules kept out of reach. We’ll start out 
on horseback at daylight to-morrow.” 

“I allow they’re half mad with thirst,” Zeph 
explained. “ You ought to have seen these critters 
drink when we came to some little mudholes on 
the way back.” 

“ Yes, I guess that’s what made ’em so wild. 
There doesn’t seem to be any water anywhere.” 

L of a 


IOO 


An Island in the Air 


“ Didn’t you chase the others ? ” Cora asked. 

“ Of course, but they had got so far ahead while 
we were getting hold of the horses, and the 
ground was so hard, that pretty soon we lost 
track of them.” 

“ What did you do then ? ” 

“ Scattered — climbed every little hill we came 
to, hunting for their trail, but had no luck at all. 
Then Zeph proposed that we explore westward, 
and so we rode off in that direction a mile or so, 
and that brought us out upon another cliff, just 
like those east of us, with another great canyon 
under it — the same one, I suppose, that we saw 
the head of yesterday.” 

“ Then if papa tries to come to us around that 
way it will take him a long time, won’t it ? ” 
asked Annie, anxiously. 

“ Yes, Puss, I’m afraid it will. As soon as we 
can catch those mules we must travel southward 
to meet him, for it is certain he can’t reach us 
from any other direction.” 

“ But how are we going to drag the ambulance 
up that rocky ridge ? ” said Zeph, presenting a 
new difficulty. 

“ I don’t know — we’ll have to look for a better 
place than any near here.” 

“ And what shall we do for drinking water ? ” 
Cora asked, remembering how much trouble she 


IOI 


A Choice Assortment of Difficulties 

had had in filling a single pail from the rock- 
hollows. 

“ I don’t know that either, Cora,” her brother 
had to confess again. “ We’re in a bad scrape, 
and we’ve got to find a way out of it, but just how 
I confess I don’t know.” 



CHAPTER XIV 

ENERGETICALLY FACES A NEW SITUATION 

The simple but hearty dinner had been eaten 
early, for the boys had had no luncheon ; and 
afterward all hands went together to seek a prac- 
ticable wagon road up the rocky bench. Moving 
first toward the right, they found the bench 
rougher and the woods thicker until at last they 
came out upon the cliff edge, where the girls 
could look down into the great valley on that 
(the western) side and understand how impossible 
it would be to descend these almost vertical piles 
of ledges. 

Turning back, they walked eastward, climbing 
here and there to investigate any place that 


102 


A New Situation 


103 


seemed likely, and at last discovered a rather 
low, but very rough, spot in the hillside, where 
the mules might perhaps drag up the ambulance 
if several trees were cut down and a good many 
rocks were rolled out of the way or pitched into 
hollows to level the surface. They decided that 
there was where the trail would have to be made. 

While the boys were talking, Cora wandered 
off a little ways, and soon they heard her shout- 
ing to them to come and see what she had found. 
It was something worth while — a large pool of 
clear water which had drained into a hollow of 
the rocks. There were twenty or thirty barrels 
of it, they judged, and this supply put them at 
ease on that score for a few days at least. 

“ Let’s move camp up here,” said Annie, “ so as 
to be near it.” 

“ When we catch the mules,” her brother 
reminded her. 

“Well, if somebody will go back with me to 
fetch a bucket, we can take some water back, 
anyhow.” 

Zeph volunteered and the rest sat down and 
waited ; and after the buckets had been brought 
and filled all returned to the ambulance, and 
building up a good fire of fragrant dead cedar 
logs, sat down to an evening which was far from 
gloomy in spite of their problems. And if Annie 


104 An Island in the Air 

did put her face down on her brother’s knee, and 
shed a few tears, what harm was it — and who 
cared ? After much talk, plans were laid for the 
morrow’s search; but it was not long before all 
laid themselves down to make up for the loss of 
sleep and the fatigue they had endured during 
the previous two days. 

Everybody was up and busy bright and early 
next morning. The sun came glimmering 
through the scraggy trees, and the grove was 
vocal with birds — loudest of all the same care- 
lessly cheerful little rock-wren who had tried so 
hard yesterday to raise the spirits of the lonely 
girls. 

Breakfast was despatched, and then all hands 
took fifteen minutes for a run back to the cliff- 
edge, where nothing was to be seen except evi- 
dence that the water was still cutting the chasm 
deeper — but a few feet more or less now was of 
little consequence. It was already twice as deep 
as the length of any rope they had. Sure that not 
a sign of any living thing on the opposite bank 
was visible, they turned away, feeling that now 
their escape depended wholly on themselves, and 
that no time must be lost in recovering their 
draft animals. 

The horses, which had been securely tied dur- 
ing the night, were saddled, but not for riding. 


A New Situation 


105 


There were two or three bags among their stores, 
and these were filled with cooking utensils and a 
selection of provisions calculated to last at least 
five days — though Andy felt sure they would 
not have to search as long as that. These were 
hung about the saddle of Andy’s horse “Jim,” 
and on top was placed a roll of bedding, the 
whole being lashed on as firmly as possible 
without the proper appliances for packing. But 
they meant to go slowly, and after they had 
climbed the rocky ridge at the edge of the 
woods, the way would be smooth so far as they 
knew, so that the packs would probably stay on. 

In the same way Chestnut was loaded with rolls 
of bedding, the bridles of the missing mules, an 
axe, and a few other necessaries ; and then, 
buttoning tightly the curtains all around the 
ambulance, to keep out rain and inquisitive ani- 
mals (especially the beautiful but overfamiliar 
chipmunks, which would be sure to raid their 
provisions if any chance were offered), the expe- 
dition was ready to go forth, save in one respect 
— the carriage of water. 

This was the most important provision and pre- 
sented the greatest difficulty ; and it was mainly 
on account of it that Andy and Zeph had strongly 
objected to the girls going with them when they 
had discussed the matter the evening before. 


106 An Island in the Air 

They said, with much force, that the proper 
thing was for themselves to go off on horseback, 
and for Cora and Annie and Carter to keep the 
camp. The girls simply wouldn’t hear of this 
arrangement — they confessed they were afraid; 
and besides they wanted to be a part of the 
searching party, and no arguments based merely 
on good sense affected them at all. So the boys 
had been compelled to give in and agree to the 
present arrangements, about the success of which 
they protested they were dubious. 

As to the water question, they had searched 
their baggage for means of carrying a supply 
in some other way than in big open buckets. 
They knew they had with them a four-quart, 
tightly closed milk-can, which had been used 
sometimes in the early part of their travels, but 
now was filled with brown sugar. This was 
poured out into a box, and the can refilled with 
water ; but four quarts was not much. 

Looking farther, they found a quart bottle filled 
with vinegar. 

“ My, but won’t Hannah say things when she 
misses this ! ” laughed Annie, when she discovered 
it. “ Say, Cote, I’m not going to throw this vin- 
egar away. I’m going to pour it into a little 
rock-hollow I know of, and we can get a good 
share of it when we come back,” — and she did. 


A New Situation 


107 


By the help of three or four other bottles and 
tin pails, about five quarts more water were pro- 
vided for. All these receptacles were filled when 
they reached the big pool, where the horses and 
themselves drank their fill before starting. The 
tight milk-can was hung on “Jim’s” saddle, the 
bottles and pails were distributed among the 
travellers, and off they started, reaching the open 
plain about nine o’clock in the morning. 

Here Andy took command. He made every 
one cut a poplar sapling, with a bunch of twigs 
and leaves left at the top, and carry it with them 
to use as a signal flag. Then he distributed his 
forces. 

“ Do you see that little knob sticking up off 
south there, almost as far as we can see ? ” 

All eyes followed his pointing arm and took 
the knob well in mind. 

“ It was down by that Zeph and Carter saw the 
last tracks yesterday. Now, Cora and Nannie, 
you lead the horses straight down to that knob, 
which is a pile of rocks, — and look out for 
snakes when you get there, — and Zeph and 
Carter and I will spread out right and left and 
swing around to the rocks before long. We 
don’t want to miss the stock, if they take it 
into their mule heads to turn back this way. 
If anybody sees the brutes, or finds new tracks, 


108 An Island in the Air 

let him wave his flag to let the rest of us know 
he wants help.” 

So they scattered, and three hours later the 
party were gathered at the knob, where the 
girls had been waiting some time. They found a 
little muddy water here and wisely gave it to the 
horses one at a time. 

Zeph was the last to come in, and reported, as 
he flung himself down on the grass and wiped 
his brow, that he had swung well to the southwest 
and had there struck the trail of the mules, which 
had travelled southward, and apparently had not 
turned back. “That’s the direction to hunt for 
’em,” he declared. 

After an hour’s rest, and a bite of food and 
swallow of drink, they started on. This time 
they spread out as widely as they could and 
keep in sight of one another. Zeph went in the 
middle, following the trail. On each side of him 
were the girls, — a quarter of a mile away, — and 
outside of them Andy and Carter. This made a 
line covering a mile or more in width of country, 
and occasionally a hilltop — though none was 
ever of much height — gave a still larger outlook. 

So they tramped on. The walking was by no 
means good, — often stony, always rough with 
bunch-grass, sage-brush clumps, which one has to 
walk around, and masses of the low cactus called 


A New Situation 109 

prickly-pear or tuna. The day was hot, the 
yellow glare of the sun-bleached plain pained 
their eyes, and they were tormented by thirst, 
yet dared not drink their water until they had 
to, for there was no telling when more could be 
got. 

There was little to interest them. A few spar- 
row-like birds flitted from bush to bush. Once a 
plover, with a cry like their home kildee, rose and 
whirled away in vast indignation, and they got a 
glimpse of a band of antelope. Of the mules, 
however, they saw nothing, and everybody was 
getting very tired, when about four o’clock Zeph 
was seen waving his bush flag violently. So 
the girls waved theirs until Andy and Carter saw 
the signal and came in and all gathered about the 
tracker, who had to report simply that the trail 
had disappeared. 

“ It began to frazzle out some ways back,” 
Zeph explained. “You see the grass is pretty 
fair here, and the critters scattered out to feed ; 
and the ground is so dry and hard that it don’t 
show no marks when the animals are stepping 
slow and light.” 

Andy looked disheartened. Everybody was 
tired, and Annie had lain down and hidden her 
face on her arm as if she were almost exhausted. 

“ Like as not we can pick it up again, off 


X 10 


An Island in the Air 


there,” said Zeph, pointing ahead. “ They seemed 
headed that way pretty straight.” 

“ We’ll have to make a big circle, and that only 
needs one or two of us. There’s a bit of a knoll 
over there a little ways, where we can unsaddle 
and maybe camp. Think you can go that far, 
Nan?” 

“ Oh, yes, I can do that, but I’m afraid I can’t 
travel much farther. I’m ashamed of myself, but 
I do get so tired in this heat.” 

“ Oh, it’s no matter. We’re all pretty tired, I 
reckon.” 

The knoll proved to have a steep face of rocks 
on the other side, with an overhanging ledge, 
making a dry, snug shelter, large enough to 
protect the whole party should a rain-storm 
come. 

“We’ll camp here,” exclaimed Andy, the 
moment he saw the place. 

“ And we won’t be the first to do so,” cried 
Cora, pointing at a little heap of charcoal and 
ashes. 

Indeed, it was plain that it had often served 
this purpose, for the rocks were blackened with 
smoke, and hundreds of pieces of broken pottery, 
in various colors, such as they had seen in the 
Indian villages above Sante Fe, were strewed in 
the dust. 


A New Situation 


1 1 1 


“ Probably a regular camping place for Injun 
hunting-parties,” was Zeph’s opinion. 

They unpacked the horses, and made a bed of 
blankets for Annie the first thing. She didn’t 
want to lie down, but “ Doctor ” Andy insisted — 
told her he didn’t want an invalid on his hands, 
and it was her business to rest and recover her 
strength. Then he and Zeph mounted the 
horses and rode away, in opposite directions, 
first setting up their “ flags ” on the summit of 
the knoll to aid them in recognizing it among the 
hundred or so other hillocks in sight, — all pretty 
much alike. 

About sunset both boys returned, having met 
two or three miles away, and reported that they had 
got on the track of the missing animals again. 

“ Zeph found the trail apparently of the whole 
bunch, and they were heading right south on the 
run,” Andy told them. 

This was better than no news, but it meant 
another day’s time and labor in chasing the run- 
aways ; and old plainsmen would have told them 
that it might be weeks rather than days before 
they were caught if the cunning creatures took it 
into their heads to go all the way back to the 
Manning camp. But, fortunately for their peace 
of mind, there were no old plainsmen there to 
croak in such a disturbing way. 


I I 2 


An Island in the Air 


However, that would be to-morrow, and mean- 
while they must have something to eat. Carter 
had pulled up and broken off two or three armfuls 
of sage-brush, which makes a hot, crackling flame, 
very good for a cooking fire, and soon the coffee- 
pot was filled with a proper quantity of their 
precious store of water, and Cora was just going 
to set it on the coals, when Andy stopped her, 
picked up his rifle, and fired ; then rushed out 
and brought in the body of a big jack-rabbit. 

“ Hooray for a stew ! ” he called. 

“ Gracious ! ” exclaimed Cora. “ You going to 
eat that /” 

“ Of course. Why not ? ” 

It wasn’t so bad as she expected, nor so good 
as he had hoped, — rather tough, and with a 
flavor of resin, — but they ate it, and Annie 
said : — 

“ There’s one thing to remember — it ‘ saves our 
bacon ! ’ ” 



CHAPTER XV 

IN WHICH THE PILGRIMS COME TO A HAPPY VALLEY 

As early as possible next morning the tramp 
was renewed, although the travellers were chilly, 
footsore, and anxious. They had slept soundly ; 
but just before going to bed, while lounging 
round the sage-brush fire, which Bimber disap- 
proved of because it had a way of snapping, the 
little dog suddenly sprang up and rushed off into 
the darkness, barking furiously ; and as soon as 
Nig heard the tone of his voice, she too was after 
him, with every hair on end. By and by they 
came back, and Andy concluded that a stray 
coyote had aroused their wrath. The incident 
1 113 


i H An Island in the Air 

kept no one awake five minutes, for they were 
utterly weary. 

The morning was sparkling with light and sun- 
shine, and the mountains wore their most majestic 
mien. Never had the wanderers had so fine a 
view of them — or cared so little about it. The 
girls, and Annie in particular, wished sometimes 
that they had remained at the ambulance and 
faced the terrors of loneliness, but neither one 
said so — and O for a drink of water ! 

They went straight to where Zeph had found 
the trail, and followed it, for it continued plain, 
and apparently all the mules and Carter’s old 
horse too — whose larger footprints could often 
be seen — were marching straight along. 

“ I think they are making for water, and won’t 
stop till they find it,” said Zeph ; and the others 
thought this likely. 

Every time they mounted one of the low ridges, 
which succeeded one another like the “dead 
swells ” of a sea after a gale, they hoped to see 
the runaway band, but nothing rewarded their 
eyes, save now and then an antelope or two. 
Sometimes these animals were very tame, stand- 
ing with their heads up and pretty lyre-shaped 
horns sharp and black against the sky, until the 
walking-party had come within fifty yards or so, 
when they would spin around and make off. But 


The Pilgrims Come to a Happy Valley 115 

somehow this never happened when either Andy 
or Zeph (who carried the two rifles) was within 
shooting distance. 

By noon Annie became very tired indeed, and 
confessed to Andy, who happened to be near 
them, that she had a dreadful headache ; where- 
upon he unstrapped the blankets from Chestnut’s 
back, and lifted her into the saddle, adding some 
of the burden to Jim’s load and taking one roll 
on his own shoulders. 

All at once, as they walked on, Cora seized the 
bridle, stopping the three with a low Sst, and 
pointed ahead. A doe antelope was coming 
backward over a low hillock a little way off at 
the left, pursued by a coyote ; and behind her, 
sticking close to her heels, was a young fawn — 
a nimble, elegant little miniature of the mother, 
whose soft eyes were now full of wild alarm. 
Andy reached down and picked up Bimber, and 
then all three watched the game. 

The fawn was the tender prey the wolf was 
pursuing, and well did both the mother and her 
little one understand the danger. Let the coyote 
make never so quick and clever a dash, there was 
the active antelope ready to meet him. Her head 
was down level with his own snarling counte- 
nance, although she had no sword-like horns to use 
in defence, as had her absent mate; but when- 


An Island in the Air 


1 1 6 

ever the wolf came near enough to give her an 
opportunity, she would spring into the air and try 
to strike him with her sharp little hoofs. He was 
afraid of these hoofs, understanding perfectly what 
it would mean to be struck by them, and would 
dodge each blow energetically ; and all the time, 
no matter how skilfully the coyote manoeuvred 
to separate it from its dam, the fawn kept close 
at her heels, knowing that there alone was it safe. 

Whether the wolf would finally have given up 
the chase and gone away nobody knows — it is 
doubtful whether he would not have tired out 
the poor little mother and captured the fawn be- 
fore night ; but while the girls were watching 
the contest, keen with interest and sympathy, a 
rifle-crack rang out at their elbows, the coyote 
sprang into the air and fell back dead, while the 
doe and fawn bounded away, fleeing like gray 
shadows down the yellow hillside. 

For some time they had been approaching a 
line of low hills, which presently showed itself as a 
long ridge or wall of reddish rocky ledges on the 
summit of a barren stony slope. Carter and Zeph 
were waiting for them here, and told them it was 
impossible to get the horses over it, — at any rate 
at that point. 

“ There must be some place to get up, though, 
for them pesky mules of ours have certainly gone 


The Pilgrims Come to a Happy Valley 117 

south of it,” Zeph remarked, with better sense 
than grammar; and he added, “ I’m going to look 
for a break.” 

By and by they heard a halloo, and saw him 
beckoning them to come. He had found a break 
in the ledges, sure enough, and more than that, 
for here was quite a plain path, which Andy de- 
clared must be either an Indian or a game trail, 
and plainly imprinted upon it were the small 
shoe-marks of several mules. 

Braced up by this discovery, all fell into Indian 
file and began to climb the path, which led in 
and out among fallen rocks, sage-brush, and 
cedars, working its way gradually to the summit 
of the ridge. Zeph was leading the line and was 
therefore the first to reach the top ; and the in- 
stant he got there, he first threw his cap into the 
air and began to dance, then suddenly stopped, 
threw up his hand in a warning gesture, and sink- 
ing to the ground placed his finger on his lips, as 
he looked back, as if to tell them to keep still and 
come on quietly. 

Puzzled and excited, Annie slid off her horse, 
and all together they crept stealthily forward to 
the rocky parapet and peered over its edge, then 
grew wide-eyed and smiling with wonder and 
delight. 

Just below lay a little valley between this and 


1 18 An Island in the Air 

a second line of low rocky bluffs ; and in it a 
bright stream ran cool and clear through meadows 
and groves where their four mules and Carter’s 
horse were grazing up to their knees in lush 
grass ! 

But why the caution and silence that had so 
abruptly succeeded the lad’s first enthusiasm ? Ah, 
there was the reason ! A hundred yards away, 
on the edge of the damp, green lowlands, were 
half a dozen antelope, — a lordly buck with some 
does and young. The latter lay comfortably on 
the ground among the flowers, but the buck stood 
with uplifted head gazing at the figures upon the 
crest of the ridge. He might run in an instant, 
— the first movement might alarm him, — but as 
yet he was too curious and too little frightened 
(for the wind was blowing the wrong way to carry 
their scent to his suspicious nostrils) to do more 
than observe these objects he so little understood. 
How noble he looked as he stood there, lithe, 
alert, ready to spring away ! Ah, why does he not 
go ? Andy has already dropped upon one knee 
and is aiming carefully at that white spot upon the 
quivering breast, for it is a long shot. The rifle 
rings out, and the bullet goes straight to the 
mark. Rearing like an angry horse, the stricken 
buck topples backward and lies still, while his 
band, springing to their feet, stand an instant in 


The Pilgrims Come to a Happy Valley 119 

bewilderment and then scud away down the valley 
and out of sight over its green-gray rim. 

“ A pretty shot ! ” yells Carter, in admiration, 
and Zeph slaps his comrade’s broad back and 
sings out: — 

“ Bully for you ! ” 

But the girls cannot help thinking of the lordly 
little buck slain in his prime, and are silent 
— even though they are in sore need of the 
flesh. 

“ Now you fellows keep quiet ! ” Andy com- 
mands. “We mustn’t scare those mules away. 
They’ve all heard the shot, and are ready to run 
now. Girls, you stay here with Chestnut and 
stop them if they come this way, while Zeph goes 
up-stream and Carter and I get below them. 
We’ll try to capture old Peggy first. If we can 
get her, it will be easy enough, I reckon, to catch 
the rest.” 

But really there was no difficulty about it. The 
animals, in this fine pasture, were far more docile 
than out on the plain just after the terror of that 
storm. They seemed rather to welcome their 
masters, and in five minutes Carter’s horse and 
two of the mules had halters round their necks, 
and the others were following as meekly as if in 
their home pasture. 

Then Andy waved his handkerchief to his 


120 


An Island in the Air 


sisters, but the signal was not needed. Chestnut 
had broken away the moment he smelled the 
water, and was galloping at full speed to the 
stream, where he plunged his nose in up to his 
eyes, and drank as though he would never get 
filled. And it seemed as though he must have 
told Jim, for an instant later that horse, too, tore 
loose and rushed to the river, his cargo rattling 
like a runaway tinshop. 

The girls were just as thirsty, but could not 
make such haste. Poor Annie was leaning on 
Cora’s shoulder as if she could hardly walk. 
When the boys saw this, Carter ran to his 
brother’s saddle, unlashed the cup hanging there, 
and filling it with cool water hastened to meet 
his sister before he himself had taken a drop of 
the delicious fluid. 

This fresh water revived the worn-out girl, but 
the older boys declared she must not try to walk 
the rest of the way. 

“We’ll make a seat with our hands and carry 
you,” said Zeph. 

So they did, and took her tenderly to the root 
of a great cottonwood which grew beside the 
creek and shaded the flower-strewn bank. 

Oh, how good that water tasted ! They drank 
and drank, and bathed their faces; and feeling 
suddenly their great fatigue and the strain they 


I 2 I 


The Pilgrims Come to a Happy Valley 

had been under, they could only lie on the grass 
and rest for a little while. 

“ How far do you think we have come ? ” asked 
Cora. 

“ I guess it is not more than twelve miles in a 
straight line ; but we have wandered about a good 
deal, and I, for one, feel as if I had walked about 
a hundred.” 

After a while the boys roused themselves and 
began to explore the valley. It was a hollow of 
perhaps a hundred acres, partly grassy prairies, 
partly groves, lying between two rocky ridges, and 
at the base of one, a couple of hundred yards above 
where Annie was lying, a great spring came boil- 
ing up in a stone basin rimmed about with green 
plants. Frogs leaped into it, newts darted to 
the bottom when any one approached, and a gor- 
geous wild duck fled noisily as the boys first 
reached its brim. 

This was no ordinary spring, but one as big 
as a dooryard, — one you might swim in. The 
rocky wall above was marked with strange carv- 
ings and faded paintings — outlines that meant 
nothing mostly, but some rudely depicting what 
looked like figures of animals and men. Its over- 
flow fed a deep stream which poured gayly along 
the valley, into and out of quiet pools, down small 
cascades, beneath long avenues of shade made by 


122 


An Island in the Air 


the arching branches of cottonwood and aspen, 
willow and spruce, and then ran out into the sun- 
shine ; and the game had been so used to come 
here to drink that regular paths were to be seen 
leading down through thickets from the uplands. 

But the most wonderful thing was the fate of 
this joyous current. Scarcely a quarter of a mile 
from where it was born in the bubbling spring, 
it turned sharply out of the meadow and entered 
a gap in the rough face of the farther ridge. Fol- 
lowing it, by stepping from stone to stone along 
the edge next the rocky wall, you presently found 
yourself confronted by a pile of ledges which 
stood squarely across the stream. At their base 
was a low cavern, into which all the water seemed 
to be sucked with exceeding swiftness; and if 
you pushed on and placed your ear down to the 
mouth of the cavern-arch, you could hear the lost 
river plunging down and down in the darkness, 
and no one could sound the depths of its disaster 
or know the duration of its captivity. 

But this marvel was as nothing beside the 
secrets the ledges themselves disclosed when the 
eyes of the wanderers were opened to perceive 
them. 



CHAPTER XVI 

CALLS FOR SYMPATHY WITH THE SICK 

Annie was really ill. Though a delicious 
piece of broiled antelope steak had been pre- 
pared for her supper, with some nicely stewed 
pilot-biscuit and a juicy tuna, her interest could 
not be aroused, though she forced down a few 
mouthfuls, more to please her friends than her- 
self. Doctor Andy did not urge her to eat. 

There was no tent here, nor any canvas or 
waterproof cloth of any sort, but the sky showed 
no signs of rain, which falls only rarely in this 
region, although only a few miles from the moun- 
tains. 

Arranging for her temporarily as soft a bed 

123 


124 


An Island in the Air 


upon the ground as spruce boughs and their 
few blankets would allow, the boys hastily put 
up a small hut, or bower, of poles, wattled with 
willow branches and thatched with leafy boughs, 
which served the purposes of shade and privacy 
even though not good for much in case of a storm. 
Into this Annie was moved before sundown, and 
made as comfortable as possible ; but it was with 
troubled hearts that the circle gathered about the 
fire that evening, for the suffering of their sister 
not only made them sympathetic and sorrowful, 
but impressed upon even the youngest the 
gravity of the circumstances in which they found 
themselves. 

The more they thought of it, the more serious 
their situation appeared. The more they studied 
the facts, the less they liked them. They were 
not likely to starve, it is true, for game seemed 
plentiful, and the ambulance contained a fair sup- 
ply of ammunition for both rifle and shot-gun, not 
to speak of the little pistol carried by Carter — 
the secret delight of the lad’s heart, but for which 
he had to stand no end of joking, all the more 
since his ridiculous adventure with the bear. 

“ Why, boy,” Zeph roared out one day, “ if 
you should shoot me with that thing, and I found 
it out , I’d spank you till you couldn’t sit your sad- 
dle for a week.” 


125 


Sympathy with the Sick 

Neither was there danger they would famish of 
thirst — the dread of the Southwest — now that 
this copious spring had been discovered. But 
these were only bright points in a picture most 
of which was immeasurably dark. It was well for 
them, as it is for all of us, that the future cannot 
be foreseen, for in our ignorance we become hard- 
ened to misfortunes gradually and get more enjoy- 
ment out of the unexpected favors of fortune. 

Annie became decidedly worse as the evening 
wore on. Her body was filled with fever and 
racked with pain, and her stomach seemed alto- 
gether out of order. Andy watched her closely, 
but could see nothing very definite in her disease, 
and, although distressed, was not alarmed ; he said 
it was too soon yet for decided symptoms to de- 
velop anyway. So when bedtime came, and Cora 
insisted that all should go to sleep around the 
fire, leaving her to serve as nurse, Andy set the 
example and the weary camp was soon quiet, 
the dogs being sentinels enough. At midnight 
Andy awoke and sent Cora to bed, himself taking 
her place beside the sick girl. She dozed more or 
less, but it was plain when the morning light came 
that she was worse — was, in fact, in the midst of 
a raging fever. 

What could be done for her? The young 
physician’s skill was of little use to him without 


126 


An Island in the Air 


medicines, and the small family medicine-chest 
had been left behind with Mrs. Manning, no one 
thinking of a long separation or that anybody 
would fall ill. Burning with fever, Annie’s cry 
was continuously for water, which at first Cora 
had refused her, except in very small draughts. 
But when Andy heard of this, he condemned it 
at once. 

“ Give her all she wants,” he ordered. 

“ But all the doctors say you mustn’t give a per- 
son with fever cold water.” 

“ All the doctors be hanged ! That is an old 
woman notion — no, it isn’t, it’s an old fool notion ; 
old women of sense know better. Put a cup be- 
side her and fill it up as fast as she empties it.” 

This was strange doctrine for that time, and 
Cora winced ; but it wasn’t the first time she had 
heard her brother scout some of the rules of the 
old-fashioned “faculty,” and so she obeyed him. 
Nowadays a physician who refused water to a 
fever patient would be drummed out of the pro- 
fession, but in Cora’s time they were just begin- 
ning to come to the modern way of thinking on 
this and several other points in medicine. Andy 
did more than command water-drinking. He 
went out and gathered a handful of wild black 
currants from the bushes along the river, where 
they were plentiful, crushed them, and put their 


127 


Sympathy with the Sick 

juice into Annie’s cup, giving a tart and pleasant 
flavor to the water, which everybody liked so well 
that all hands made this “shrub,” and added the 
currants and sweeter service-berries to their sparse 
bill of fare. Suddenly Carter exclaimed : — 

“ I say, Doc, isn’t quinine good for fever ? ” 

“ I should say it was — I wish to goodness we 
had some.” 

“ It comes in pills, don’t it ? ” 

“ Usually — sometimes in a powder.” 

“ Well, there’s a bottle of something in that old 
overcoat of father’s in the ambulance. I saw it the 
other day when I was looking through the pockets 
after a fish-line. I’m almost sure it’s quinine.” 

“ But why should father have quinine in his 
overcoat pocket ? ” 

“ Don’t you remember that stormy day when 
we were crossing the Raton Range (that’s the 
last time he wore the coat) that father had a bad 
cold, and mother was all the time telling him to 
take quinine ? I’ll bet you he put a bottle of it in 
his pocket and it’s been there ever since.” 

“By jiminy! I hope you’re right! But that 
isn’t here.” 

“ No, but we can get it pretty quick. It’s only 
a dozen miles back to the wagon, and if we rode 
hard, Zeph and I could go there and get back 
before night” 


128 


An Island in the Air 


“ Guess I'd better go.” 

“ Oh, no ! ” Cora protested. “ I don’t want you 
to go away. I can’t be left alone — ” 

“Well, I like that!” said Zeph, with a great 
show of indignation. “ Hear the miss ! ‘ All 

alone,’ Carter, when you and I would be ‘pres- 
ent or accounted for.’ Why, she thinks were 
nobody.” 

“ Quit wasting your time and saddle up. I 
hate to send you youngsters on such a trip, but 
I don’t see how it can be helped — and quinine 
would be such a blessing. And besides, Annie 
needs better food, which you can bring.” 

This was Andy’s energetic way of settling the 
row, and no time was to be lost, for it was already 
seven o’clock, the conversation having taken place 
at breakfast. 

The three made haste to catch and saddle the 
horses, and Cora wrote down a list of certain 
things she wanted, including flour, tea, sugar, and 
a few other things for the patient, whereupon 
Zeph proposed that Carter ride Chestnut and use 
old Peggy as a packhorse. 

“We can bring a pile of stuff in the saddle- 
bags and strapped to the saddle.” 

So that arrangement was quickly made. 

“Are you sure you know the way?” asked 
Cora, with natural anxiety. 


129 


Sympathy with the Sick 

“ Oh, yes. As soon as we get on top of the 
ridge here we can see the mountains, and then I 
know the point to steer by, — we learned that 
when we were hunting the horses.” 

“ But what will you steer by when you come 
back?” 

“ Oh, I think we can follow our trail or find our 
way. Well take good notice of the lay of the 
land.” 

“ I’ll set up a bushy pole for a landmark on the 
ridge,” Andy promised. 

A few moments later the boys cantered off, 
carrying a rifle and with Nig at their heels, very 
careful not to step on the cactus, whose prickles 
had made her feet so sore, in spite of their harden- 
ing, that she had learned to avoid the thorny 
plants as if they were hot coals. Bimber, as 
usual, was in a peck of trouble, for he didn’t 
know whether he wanted to go or to stay, but 
Cora helped him to a decision by getting a good 
grip on the scruff of his neck. 



CHAPTER XVII 

DISCOURSES OF ANTIQUITIES AND SAGE-TEA 

The table-land had now been pretty thoroughly 
explored between the camp and the mountains, 
from the brink of the great canyon on the east 
to that on the west; but of what lay southward 
our wanderers had as yet learned nothing. 

“ I can’t do any exploring till the boys come 
back and Nannie gets better,” Andy told Cora; 
“but as I seem to be of no use here I’ll climb 
those rocks that wall in the valley over there to 
the s’uth’ard and see what the country beyond 
them looks like.” 

“ Don’t go far,” said the sister, anxiously. 

“ I won’t ; and if you want me, just throw an 
130 


Antiquities and Sage-tea 131 

armful of damp leaves on the fire to make a 
smoke. I’ll be on the watch for the signal and 
come back on the jump.” 

Shouldering the shot-gun and walking down 
the brookside, Andy speedily came to the foot of 
the rough ridge, perhaps a hundred feet high, 
which, though sloping and grassy elsewhere, was 
crowned just here by low and broken cliffs or 
ledges of yellowish sand-rock, which bent inward 
into a sort of recess or alcove, toward the centre 
of which the river made its way into a ravine and 
disappeared down a cavern. 

Scrambling up to the base of these ledges, 
Andy paused in astonishment, for wherever there 
was a shelf of rock broad enough to hold it, stood 
the ruins, or often the complete but roofless 
structure, of a small stone house, well built of 
squared blocks ; while a long line of shallow 
caves in the face of the crags sheltered similar 
buildings, sometimes one filling a whole niche, 
while larger hollows contained several. The 
crags on the farther side of the river were equally 
studded with ruins. 

Some of these houses were quite out of reach. 
Perhaps the rock had been worn away, or perhaps 
it had always been as abrupt as now, and the 
owners had reached their domiciles by means of 
ladders which they drew up at night or whenever 


i3 2 


An Island in the Air 


they cared to be alone. To many, however, access 
was easy, and in these Andy found sometimes 
only one room, but often two or three, partitioned 
by walls of stone or of sun-dried bricks (adobes), 
often smoothly plastered and tinted with a reddish 
clay-wash in which minute flakes of mica still 
glistened. 

The more Andy saw of them the more he won- 
dered who were the builders, and what was their 
history; and this wonder grew when at last he 
entered a good two-roomed house and was 
amazed to find ashes on the hearth and some 
bones near by, which he took to be those of a 
rabbit, that seemed as though thrown down only 
yesterday. He had seen in some of the other 
houses cedar beams, evidently as ancient as the 
walls, but these newer relics, and some tufts of 
fur and bits of buckskin lying about, completely 
puzzled him because they looked so fresh. This 
made him think of the recent signs of camping 
found under the shelter where they had biv- 
ouacked on the mesa; and he concluded that 
modern Indians occasionally spent the night in 
the shelter of these ancient buildings — which 
was a new subject of thought. Yet he had seen 
no other signs of Indians, and decided that 
these evidences might refer to a visit a year or 
more ago ; at any rate there was no need to alarm 


T 33 


Antiquities and Sage-tea 

the girls by talking on the subject, at least until 
Nan was better. 

Leaving these ruins after a hasty glance, he 
soon found a place where he was able to climb to 
the summit. This overlooked the valley, where 
he could easily see the smoke of the camp-fire, 
and commanded a wide prospect. As far as his 
sight could reach southward stretched a fairly 
level expanse of tawny, undulating plain, growing 
blue on the horizon. It was broken only by a 
rocky elevation, perhaps three miles away, crowned 
with crags. Between him and this rocky hillock, 
which he named in his own mind The Butte , he 
caught sight of a band of moving figures that he 
soon made out to be deer ; but there was no sign 
of human life, nor was he able to study the shape 
of the lower part of the two great canyons which 
hemmed the mesa in on each side, but it was 
plain to be seen that their opposite walls were 
vertical escarpments, broken and carved into a 
line of most picturesque buttresses, towers, and 
pinnacles. 

More and heavier ruins occupied this summit 
where he stood ; and Andy studied them for some 
time, picking up many pieces of broken pottery 
marked with ornamental designs in red, yellow, 
and black ; also two or three stone arrow-heads, 
— one beautifully chipped from that black vol- 


134 


An Island in the Air 


canic glass common in Mexico and the south- 
western United States, which mineralogists call 
obsidian. 

“ I’ll have it mounted in gold as a breastpin for 
Nannie, as soon as I get to San Francisco,” he 
said to himself, as he admired it; and that re- 
minded him to take a look for a possible signal. 
But the only smoke to be seen was a thin blue 
wisp, so he concluded he was not needed, and 
extended his walk until he found himself west of 
the stream. Then he picked his way down the 
crags in a new place and started homeward. 
Here sage-brush grew abundantly, while it was 
uncommon in the valley. Andy idly plucked a 
few leaves and unthinkingly put them in his 
mouth, where their pungent, bitter taste made 
him spit them out quickly. 

“ Makes me think of grandmother and her sage- 
tea,” he thought to himself. 

Then he came to a full stop. 

“ Wonder if it wouldn’t do Nan good. Of 
course this wormwood bush has nothing to do 
with the true sage herb of grandmother’s garden 
that she set such store by, but Annie’ll never 
think of the difference, and her faith will go 
farther toward curing her than the weed anyhow. 
I expect it’ll taste mighty bitter, and that’ll help. 
Most people have an idea that unless a medicine 


Antiquities and Sage-tea 135 

tastes pretty bad it is not effective. What I want 
is to get a lot of hot water down her throat so as 
to start perspiration. But one can’t drink much 
plain hot water, and we’ve got no lemons, so I’ll 
just order ‘sage-tea,’ and say nothing about it. 
The hot water will do her good, and the bitter- 
ness won’t harm her. In fact the Indians say 
these leaves are good for fever.” 

So thought the young physician as he plucked 
a pocketful of the small sage-green leaves and 
strolled into camp. 

“ I’m ’fraid Nan’s got mountain-fever,” was Cora’s 
greeting in an anxious tone. “ That’s a dreadful 
disease. Oh, if mamma were only here ! What 
shall we do if they don’t bring any quinine ? ” 

“ I guess not,” was the cheerful answer. “ She’s 
caught cold and has overtaxed her strength, but 
we’ll set her all O.K. if we can start a sweat. 
I’m not going to wait for the chance of quinine. 
We will put our trust in sweating and sage-tea,” 
and he produced the leaves, but said nothing as 
to their nature. 

So water was heated, blankets were collected, 
and Andy joked the patient gently on the ordeal 
preparing for her. 

“ Just as they nail dead hawks on a barn-door 
to encourage the rest,” she responded with a wan 
sort of smile. 


1 3 6 


An Island in the Air 


So the bitter tea was brewed — lots of it. 

“ It’s awful nasty, Nan dear,” said Cora, as she 
wrapped her sister up in blanket after blanket. 
“ But it’s sure to do you good ; and if only you 
can perspire well, you’ll be all right, I’m sure, by 
to-morrow.” 

Annie gulped down a great cupful, making 
wry faces and sputtering over its heat and bitter- 
ness, but she felt too miserable to care much ; 
and half an hour later she was perspiring until 
she feebly asked whether they meant to stew her 
all up like the sage-leaves. 

“Well, hardly, Nannie; but just you stand it 
as long as you can.” 

By and by the girl fell into a sleep. Sunset 
passed, Cora and Andy ate their supper, and still 
no boys came. As twilight deepened into dark- 
ness the campers grew really anxious, and Andy 
decided that he must build a fire on the ridgetop 
to guide the belated wanderers, since his flagpole 
would soon become invisible. So he started off 
with an armful of sticks and a large brand from 
the camp-fire, swinging it in the air to keep it 
alive. 

Cora sat down wearily, and leaned her head 
against a tree by the door of the hut, where 
Annie was still asleep. She watched Andy’s 
waving spark, and presently saw his fire glowing 


Antiquities and Sage-tea 137 

out in the darkness against the jewelled sky. The 
gurgle of the brook and the crunching of the 
grass by the mules near by were the only sounds 
to be heard. Her thoughts flew back to the old 
home and friends that seemed so far away and so 
long back ; to the slow journey across the Plains, 
and the queer incidents in Santa Fe and since. 
She wondered for the thousandth time what 
mamma and papa were doing and thinking, and — 
Why, she must have been dozing, for here were 
all the boys and horses and she had never heard 
them come at all ! 

“ Did you get it ? ” she called out as she sprang 
to her feet. 

“ Don’t know. There’s the bottle,” and Zeph 
pointed to Andy’s hands. 

It was a small, dark-blue, wide-mouthed bottle, 
the label of which had become so worn it couldn’t 
be read, nor could the nature of its contents be 
well seen through the dark glass. 

“ Seems to have a powder inside it, but I don’t 
believe it’s quinine,” Andy muttered as he tugged 
at the stopper. He loosened it a little and 
smelled of it. “ Not much ! Smell that ! ” he 
ejaculated, pulling out the cork and thrusting it 
under Carter’s nose. 

“ Gosh all hemlocks ! ” the boy yelled, and be- 
gan to dance and sneeze and swear vengeance. 


138 An Island in the Air 

“ Gracious ! what is it ? ” asked Cora. 

“ Hartshorn — smelling salts,” her brother told 
her, as he shut the bottle. “ It’ll teach the lad to 
keep his nose out of other people’s affairs ” — 
which was hard on the innocent youth, and not 
calculated to soothe him at all. 

Then Zeph marched away with the horses, and 
neither boy said a word about how they came to 
be so late. This was the reason. They had seen 
at a distance on the prairie an Indian, and fearing 
to go on had hidden in a hollow. Whether he 
had noticed them or not they were not sure. 
After it became dark they started on, steering as 
well as they could by the stars — no easy task for 
beginners; and when they saw Andy’s fire, they 
became more frightened than ever, thinking it 
was an Indian camp. Zeph, however, seeing that 
it was in the proper direction, guessed it might 
be a beacon to guide them, and so after a while 
they crept nearer, and finally plucked up courage 
to approach it. 

It was quite ten o’clock when they came in, so 
that Cora must have had a good nap ; but Annie 
remained in quiet slumber, and no harm had been 
done by her lack of vigilance. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

EXPLAINS THE RECOVERY OF THE AMBULANCE 

The next was an idle day. Although the 
young patient was a trifle better, no one felt will- 
ing to leave her long, and the day was spent by 
the boys in rambling over the ruins and around 
the spring, examining the ancient architecture or 
collecting fragments of pottery and stone im- 
plements. 

Carter went out with the shot-gun and brought 
back doves enough to make a delicious broth for 
Annie, and reported seeing many footprints of 
deer and antelopes which had stolen down to 
drink during the night. Wolf tracks were 
among them, and even the “spoor” of a puma, 
139 


140 An Island in the Air 

although this last was not recognized at this 
time. 

“ I allow this is the only watering-place in a 
long piece of country,” said Zeph, “and that the 
game comes here every night.” 

“We ought to lay for it some time,” was Car- 
ter’s sensible opinion. 

“So we will. No danger of our starving, I 
guess; and if it wasn’t for all the rest of it, I’d 
like nothing better than to fool ’round here till 
winter, hunting and loafing.” 

As the day wore on Annie felt her fever return- 
ing, and very readily agreed to Andy’s and Cora’s 
advice that she repeat the treatment of the night 
before. 

“ I hate that sage-tea,” she told them. “ But I 
think — yes, I am sure — it did me good, and I’ll 
drink as much as I can, and try to kill this fever 
to-night. I don’t ache so much as I did, and I 
don’t believe it’s mountain-fever I have, but only 
a plain, ordinary one. I’m bound to get over it, 
anyhow, and right away, too ! ” 

This courageous way of talking was the best 
medicine she could have given herself, but she 
didn’t think of that, putting all her faith in the 
sage-tea. 

So she shut her eyes and took a tremendous 
dose of the hot mixture, and then lay tightly 


Recovery of the Ambulance 14 1 

rolled in blankets until after a while she fell into 
another deep sleep, which continued unbroken 
till almost morning, so that Cora, lying near her, 
was not disturbed once. And when the sun rose, 
and the girl waked up, her eyes were bright, her 
skin cool and moist, and her fever had quite gone, 
taking all the pains and distress with it. 

“ I’m awfully weak and sleepy,” she confessed, 
“but I’m going to get well right away, as I told 
you I would. Three cheers for sage! — but oh, 
it was bitter ! ” 

It was a joyful group, then, that gathered 
around the breakfast table, and their talk was of 
what should be the next move. 

“ I think we ought to get the ambulance, or at 
any rate what is in it, and bring it here before 
anything else.” 

“ Why, Cora, we don’t need anything from it, 
hardly,” said Andy, “except some more of the 
ammunition, and maybe the provisions.” 

“ ‘ Ammunition, and maybe the provisions ’ ! 
That ain’t half ! Nan and I both need other 
clothes, and so do you boys,” persisted this practi- 
cal young housekeeper. “We ought to have 
means to wash our clothing, too, and the tent, 
and, in fact, the wagon itself. I don’t propose to 
live outdoors nobody knows how long, and cer- 
tainly Nan ought to have a better place. Sup- 


142 


An Island in the Air 


posing it had rained while she was lying sick in 
that shanty — or even now for that matter. She’d 
surely take cold if she got wet, and I’ve often 
heard mamma say that many a person has died 
because they caught cold after a sickness. I tell 
you we must have the ambulance with us wher- 
ever we go.” 

“ I guess you’re right,” Andy agreed. 

“ But how are we going to get it ? ” Carter 
objected. “ Girls never think of trouble.” 

“ Don’t they ? ” retorted his sister. “ Seems to 
me you’re thinking too much of trouble ! How 
do you know that everything won’t be stolen by 
the Indians? You say they are around here. 
All you have to do is to take the mules and 
work awhile to dig out a road up the ridge.” 

Cora was tired and sleepy, or perhaps she 
wouldn’t have been so — no, not cross, but forci- 
ble. But this strong way of talking about the 
matter was just what was needed. The young 
men had their faces set on further exploration, 
and in their own rude health and strength had 
forgotten the girls’ necessity for greater comforts 
and conveniences. 

At any rate Andy took her part, and by and 
by Zeph came over, and then Carter’s grum- 
bling didn’t matter; moreover, Zeph warned him 
presently that if he didn’t quit growling, he’d 


143 


Recovery of the Ambulance 

punch his head. Carter dared him to try it, 
but “ shut up ” all the same, for he was not a 
bad fellow, nor a very foolish one. 

After all the boy was not called upon to take 
part in this to him disagreeable job, for it was 
arranged that he might stay in camp, while 
Andy and Zeph took the mules (riding two and 
leading the other span) back to the wagon and 
did their best to bring it up. 

Before noon they went away and by three 
o’clock had reached the wagon, finding every- 
thing just as they had left it. Hitching up they 
dragged the ambulance to the foot of the bench 
at the chosen place, and then went to work to 
clear away rocks, cut down trees, and make an 
excuse for a road until it became too dark to do 
anything more. 

Then they got themselves some bacon and sea- 
biscuits out of the wagon for supper, built a good 
fire, and went early to sleep, for they were too 
tired to sit up and talk, as one is so tempted 
to do when fragrant, dry cedar logs are burning 
before you and the tree-tops and sky alone are 
overhead. 

Next morning they went at it again almost as 
soon as it was light enough to see. The greatest 
difficulty was an abrupt wall near the top — the 
front of a rocky ledge about six feet high. Upon 


144 


An Island in the Air 


this their pick made no impression, and they had 
to sit down and study the problem very carefully. 
One plan was to unload the wagon, take it to 
pieces, and lift it up little by little; but it was 
evident this would be too long a job, even if it 
were practicable for two persons to do it at all. 
The greatest haste was necessary, not because 
they felt obliged to return by a certain time, but 
because they had only a bottle full of water be- 
tween them, and there was almost none for the 
mules — no more than a little muddy residue in 
the rocky basin. The extreme dryness of the air 
and the hot sunshine dry up a pool wonderfully 
quickly in that region. Finally they concluded 
to put up a slanting bridge. To do this they cut 
down two large trees for logs for side-beams, and 
with much labor and ingenuity leaned them in 
a proper way against the wall and braced them 
there. Next they cut smaller sticks and laid 
them across to form the “ planks ” of the incline, 
weighting their ends with stones, and filling up 
the interstices with saplings and brush. 

It was very slow and very hard work, but they 
kept at it until noon, when it was nearly finished ; 
and then they allowed themselves time for a cold 
lunch, and to go a second time to the edge of the 
cliffs of the great chasm. It was rather deeper 
than before, and what seemed a permanent stream 


Recovery of the Ambulance 145 

was rushing along its channel. It was impossible 
to get down, and no sign was visible of any per- 
son on the other side. An hour more was re- 
quired to finish the bridge and its approach, and 
another hour of patient work to persuade the 
scary mules to trust themselves and drag their 
load up this novel and precarious-looking road- 
way ; but by three o’clock the last straining pull 
and push had been given, the top was reached, 
and a few moments later they were driving post- 
haste over the prairie toward home. 

Home ! How speedily one learns to put this 
name upon any place where his dear ones and 
his household goods happen to be. That rude 
little camp in that remote and nameless glen was 
as far as possible from what these young people 
had been accustomed to call home ; yet the word 
fell naturally from their lips, albeit uttered a little 
sadly. 

The sun was just setting when they rattled 
down the last ridge into the valley, and the hearty 
gratitude and good supper with which they were 
met went a long way toward driving away 
fatigue. 



SHOWS HOW THE PILGRIMS MADE THEMSELVES 

comfortable; and also — 

The next morning, well rested and with Annie 
on the road to recovery, Andy felt free to begin 
the reconnoissance he had long been anxious to 
make. He intended to take Zeph with him, but 
Carter begged to go, and Zeph volunteered to 
take care of the camp, and do a lot of the “chores ” 
which he declared ought to be attended to. So 
two horses were saddled early and the brothers 
rode away, eager and hopeful of finding an open- 
ing out of their difficulties. 

Zeph and Cora at once went to work. They 
got the tent out of the wagon, first off, and set 

146 


i47 


Pilgrims made Comfortable 

it up in a delightful grassy spot a little way from 
their present accidental quarters. Two of the 
horse-blankets formed the cushion of the driver’s 
seat, and one of these was spread down as a car- 
pet, its corners pegged to the ground. Then the 
cots were drawn from their places in the wagon 
and set up in the tent, and Annie’s small trunk 
put near the head pole. 

“ Now for the young lady herself,” Zeph called 
out. “You tell Miss Annie that in one minute 
by the sun I am going to pick her up in my 
* strong young arms,’ as the story-books say, carry 
her over there, and lay her in her little bed.” 

The girl protested that she could walk, but 
Zeph wouldn’t hear of it, and carried out his 
promise as well as the invalid, who was vastly 
pleased with the change. 

Then the boy dug a trench and walled it with 
stones, and put one or two flat ones across the 
top, and so made a sort of stone stove, which 
facilitated cooking operations very greatly. This 
fireplace was for kitchen use exclusively, and was 
near the tent, while the camp-fire was in another 
place. When he had brought from the ambulance 
one of the cupboard-chests to serve as a table, a 
great deal of comfort had been added to the camp, 
and it was luncheon time. Cora put a bouquet 
of wild blossoms on the table, — exquisite colum- 


148 


An Island in the Air 


bines larger and more delicately varied in tint 
than ever seen in the east, gaudy sunflowers with 
orange centres, scarlet painter’s brush, roses and 
rose-tinted cactus-flowers, feathery tufts of white 
sage, and many a little blossom she did not know ; 
and the table was set where Annie could look at 
it from her couch when the flaps of the tent were 
folded back. It was a beautiful quiet day, sunny 
but not too warm in the shadow of the tall cotton- 
wood over their heads. 

“ It is just a week since we landed on these 
inhospitable shores,” Zeph remarked. 

“ And to-day is Sunday,” said Annie. “ Did you 
know it ? ” 

“ Is it ? I must confess I hadn’t kept track,” 
the boy answered. “ Then it must ’a’ been on a 
Saturday night we ran that race against the wash- 
out. Jerusalem, but that was a storm ! ” 

“ And it was on a Sunday that Nan and I were 
so frightened at being left alone, and you boys 
chased so hard after the lost horses,” said Cora. 
“Well, I guess we’ll be forgiven, for that was 
certainly a work of necessity.” 

“ I allow it was,” Zeph agreed. “ You know 
the Bible says that if one’s ass falls into a ditch 
on that day, it’s all right to pull it out ; and we 
thought sure our mules — and they’re part ass, 
you know — had fallen into a hole of some sort; 


149 


Pilgrims made Comfortable 

they came mighty near going into a deeper ditch 
than any of those fellows in Palestine ever saw, 
I reckon.” 

“Yes, I guess not even Dr. Phinney himself 
would have objected to our working that day — 
or to what we have done to-day.” 

“ Dr. Phinney ? ” Zeph repeated in a tone of 
curiosity. “ Who is he ? ” 

“ A minister who went about the country a few 
years ago holding great revival meetings, where 
everybody got tremendously excited. Papa heard 
him, and thought he was too strict in his notions 
for anybody to live up to; and mamma told me 
the other day, when we were talking about him, 
that he is now president of a big Congregational 
college at Oberlin, in Ohio, where they try to 
educate every boy to be a minister and every 
girl to be a minister’s wife. It must have been 
a very queer school at the start, but papa told 
us it was ‘ getting civilized ’ gradually, and even 
Dr. Phinney was mellowing some as he grew 
older.” 

“ I’ve got a job of mercy for this afternoon, 
anyhow,” Zeph continued. “ Chestnut’s back has 
been galled by carrying those packhorse loads 
without a pack-saddle, and I want to wash the 
sores well, if I can find some soap.” 

He went to the wagon and rummaged about, 


An Island in the Air 


150 

but soon came back to say that not a cake could 
he find of any sort. 

“ Can’t you ? I’ve got only a little piece, and 
Nan and I want that. It won’t last long either,” 
and Cora looked much disturbed. 

“Oh, Cote,” Annie called out, “couldn’t you 
find some soaproot about here ? ” 

“ What’s that?” 

“ Some kind of Spanish bayonet. I saw Mexi- 
can women washing with it in one of the villages, 
and they told me about it.” 

“ Lots of Spanish bayonet out on the mesa,” 
said Zeph. “ I’ll go and dig some up and see what 
we get.” 

He and Bimber ran off and presently came 
back with a lot of thick, parsnip-like roots which 
he said were of two kinds. They put slices of 
one in a cup of hot water, but it had no more 
effect than so many chips. But when they tried 
the other, and stirred them around vigorously, 
the pieces became slippery and gradually pro- 
duced a soft and excellent lather. So that want 
was met. Chestnut’s back was well washed and 
healed, and there was no more lack of soap in the 
camp. 

The sun had sunk behind the trees of the west- 
ern side of the valley, and they had begun to grow 
anxious about the explorers, when a shout was 


Pilgrims made Comfortable 15 1 

heard, and they rode slowly into the valley, with 
faces far from bright. 

Zeph noticed the depression, but said nothing 
as he took the horses and began to unsaddle them. 
Carter threw himself on the ground as if fagged 
out, and Andy went at once to the tent. 

“ Why, Andy, what’s the matter ? ” Cora ex- 
claimed as he entered. “You look as if you’d 
seen a ghost ! ” 

“ Oh, it’s nothing,” he answered, mustering a 
smile. “ I am tired. How’s Nan ? ” 

“ I’m getting along famously,” that young lady 
reported herself. “ I really ate some dinner to- 
day, and shall sit up to-morrow, I guess.” 

“ That’s grand ! But be careful. We can give 
you plenty of time to get well, and you mustn’t 
catch a fall backward. Nice girls are scarce, and 
when we get one, we like to keep her. But I 
only came in to ‘ tell you howdy,’ as the Georgians 
say, and must go and bathe my eyes and get a 
cool drink. It was like a furnace out on the mesa, 
and I am almost used up with heat and thirst.” 

“ Poor Andy ! I’m so sorry ! But come in again, 
by and by, and tell me what you saw.” 

Cora followed him out of the tent. 

“ Andy, I know better. Something has hap- 
pened. Were you chased by Indians ? ” 

“ Never saw a redskin. Only wish I had.” 


152 


An Island in the Air 


“ Why do you say that ? ” 

“ Because he might have helped us.” 

“ What do you mean ?” 

“ I mean that Carter and I followed the edge 
of the cliffs along the side of the gulch over there 
on the west until they curved ’round and joined 
the cliffs that border the eastern gulch, and no- 
where, all the way ’round, for miles and miles, 
could we find any place where even a goat could 
get down.” 

“ Why — why — that’s impossible. There must 
be some place ! ” 

“ Maybe so ; but we couldn’t find it. This 
prairie around us here is the top of a big flat hill 
with sides like a wall. A week ago it was joined 
on to the mountains; but when that cloudburst 
swept away the neck of land, it just left the whole 
thing a prairie up in the air, and we and every- 
thing else on it are just as much prisoners as if 
we were on an island in the ocean — more so, for 
then we could make a boat and sail away, and 
here we’ve got to make a flying-machine or else 
jump off.” 

“ What shall we do ? ” 

“ I give it up. That’s too hard a conundrum 
for me yet.” 



CHAPTER XX 

REPORTS A SERIOUS BUT NOT VERY SOLEMN COUNCIL- 

OF-WAR 

All the party soon learned the news, but not 
much was said about it until after supper had 
been eaten and various little chores were out of 
the way. Then, the evening as usual being cool, 
a fire of dry cedar was built near the door of the 
tent, so that Annie might enjoy its warmth, light, 
and fragrance — it smelt like a heap of lead-pen- 
cils burning, she told them — and could join in the 
consultation. 

“ One thing’s sure,” she offered as a starter. 
“ I am going to get well between this and to-mor- 

153 


154 An Island in the Air 

row night, and be up and around next day as good 
as ever.” 

“ And twice as handsome,” said Zeph, gal- 
lantly. 

“ So we are really prisoners on this mesa, are 
we ? ” Cora quietly remarked. “ What shall we 
do if we can’t get down ? ” 

“ Wait until somebody comes and takes us 
down, I suppose,” said Andy. 

“ Father’s around somewhere looking for us, 
you bet ! ” Carter exclaimed. 

“ But what good can it do if he finds us? ” Cora 
demanded impatiently. “ If we can’t get down the 
cliffs, how in the world is he going to get up? I 
wish you had some sense.” 

This was a little hard, because the boy hadn’t 
proposed anything at all ; but Cora was tired and 
excited. 

“ Are you sure” Annie broke in, “ that there is 
7to way down to the valley ? ” 

“ We couldn’t see any. The cliffs are just like 
the side of a house all the way ’round.” 

“ How high are they ? ” 

“ Well, they run from a hundred feet or so 
back where the washout was, and where we came 
over on that unlucky night, to twelve or fifteen 
hundred feet at the southern end. You see this 
is a regular mesa.” 


A Council-of-lVar 155 

“ What do you mean by a ‘ mesa ’ ? ” Zeph in- 
quired, properly pronouncing the word mayza . 

“ A flat-topped table-land. It’s the Spanish 
word for ‘ table.’ This one is fifteen or sixteen 
miles long and rather balloon-shaped. The nar- 
rower part is up near the mountains, and it got 
cut through by the cloudburst, as we know. Per- 
haps there was originally a gap there, between the 
sandstone strata of the mesa and the massive 
rocks of the mountain, which had long ago got 
filled up with gravel and earth and now has been 
washed out. That must be so or it couldn’t have 
gone so rapidly. Then a great gulch has been 
slowly eaten out on each side, both opening 
into another big valley across the lower end, 
where the mesa is perhaps two miles wide. Those 
lands that look like hills east and west of us are 
the tops of other mesas pretty much like ours, I 
suppose. There’s a line of ’em all along in front 
of the base of the range. I guess the whole 
country was up to this level once, but the rocks 
are soft sandstone, and old rivers have cut deep 
channels down from the mountains, leaving these 
highlands between them.” 

“ I tell you what / think,” said Cora, decisively. 

“ What’s that, sis ? ” 

“ That we’ve just got to creep along the edge 
and look at every bit of the cliffs. I dare say 


An Island in the Air 


156 

we’ll find some place where we can work our way 
down, at any rate, with ropes and shovels to help 
us. Aren’t there ledges and rough places here 
and there ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“Well, I’m sure we’ll find some place where 
we can crawl from ledge to ledge and zigzag 
along till we get out. Why, we’ll starve to death 
here in a little while.” 

“ Oh, no, we won’t,” said Zeph. 

“ Why, Zeph, our provisions won’t hold out 
more than three or four weeks, the very best 
we can do. I wish you fellows didn’t eat so 
much ! ” 

“ That don’t mean starvation,” Zeph persisted. 
“ There are deer, and antelope, and birds enough 
here to keep us two years, and we’ll get away by 
hook or crook long before that time anyhow.” 

“ But no one likes to live on nothing but meat,” 
said Annie. 

“ Therefore,” Andy interrupted, “ we must go 
slow on other provisions, and make them last. 
We can get tunas and berries and pihon-nuts; 
but, as Zeph says, we must depend mainly on 
game.” 

“ If worst comes to worst,” said Carter, gravely, 
“ we can kill our horses.” 

“ What ! eat Chestnut ? ” cried Annie. 


A Council-of-lVar 157 

“ Horse-chestnuts are pretty poor grub,” Zeph 
remarked sadly. 

The boys laughed, but the girls were simply 
scornful. To make such a heartless jest on their 
pet pony — and so bad a one ! 

“ Now you youngsters may joke,” said Andy, 
“but we’re certainly in a hole.” 

“ In a hole! ” exclaimed Cora. Then it was the 
turn of the girls to make merry. 

“ Oh, you know what I mean — we are in a fix 
— a scrape — a difficulty — and I don’t think we’ll 
get out of it in a hurry. There’s no use crying 
about it, of course, but we’ve got to buckle down 
to some hard work, and, as Cora said a minute 
ago, just search those cliffs as if we were looking 
for a gold-mine. We’ll never see any gold-mine 
till we do find the stairs, that’s sure ! ” 

Andy was as serious as could be, but there was 
no subduing his crew that night, and out of the 
shadowy tent came a clear voice singing, — 

“ Oh, Susanna, don’t you cry for me, 

For I’m goin’ to Californy with 
A gold-pan on my knee.” 

Nevertheless they did some pretty solid think- 
ing and talking before they went to bed, and 
finally laid out a plan of work something like 
this : A hunt should be undertaken first, and a 


158 An Island in the Air 

supply of meat secured; and the girls should 
gather and dry as many berries as they could 
find. After these arrangements had been com- 
pleted, a regular survey of the cliffs should be 
begun in the hope of discovering a way to get 
down. 

This plan required them to make long journeys 
every morning and evening to and from the place 
where each day’s exploration was done ; but there 
was no easier way, for nowhere else on the mesa, 
so far as they knew, was any water to be found, 
except in this curious little valley with its huge 
spring and extraordinary river, which had so brief 
and merry a life and so mysterious an end. 



CHAPTER XXI 

NOTES PREPARATIONS FOR A CAMPAIGN 

All were out of bed early next morning. The 
weather promised a bright, cloudless day, the air 
was crisp and cool, the rich warbling of 2C black- 
headed grosbeak rang from the rock-maples like 
the tinkling sound of water dropping melodiously, 
and out on the upland prairie a meadow-lark 
soared and whistled that delicate song never heard 
in the east — the sweetest of western bird-music. 

Every one was full of hope, and even Annie 
insisted upon getting up and sitting by the fire, 
while Cora and Carter cooked their scanty break- 
fast. 

“ If there’s one thing more than another to be 
159 


160 An Island in the Air 

thankful for,” Cora remarked, “it is that that 
coffee-box happened to be full. But we’ve got 
to use it economically all the same. Can’t have 
it more than once a day, and not much then.” 

This was the day to be devoted to hunting, and 
the moment they had finished eating the two 
older boys were ready to start. Zeph caught up 
the horses, Cora prepared a pocketful of luncheon 
for each, and Andy had picked up his rifle, when 
Bimber began to make a great row at the edge 
of the little grove. 

“ What’s the matter with the dog ? ” Andy 
muttered, and strode off to find out. He was 
hardly out of sight when they heard him fire, and 
half a minute later he came back. 

“ What did you shoot at ? ” 

“ Black-tailed deer. I killed him. Better go 
and fetch him in,” was the careless answer, as 
though it was a daily occurrence of no conse- 
quence. 

But no one else took it so coolly, and the whole 
crowd started on a run. It was a fine doe, and 
gave meat enough for a week. But how to keep 
it was the question. 

“ I expect,” said Andy, “ that we’d better do as 
the Indians and plainsmen do and ‘ jerk ’ it.” 

“ What’s that?” 

“ Cut the flesh into strips and dry it in the sun. 


Preparations for a Campaign 161 

But that is too large a job for you girls. So we 
will carry it into a cool place by the river and 
skin and gralloch it and hang it up, and perhaps 
to-morrow we may dry it.” 

This was done, and delayed them perhaps an 
hour, when they mounted their horses and rode 
away, each with his rifle, in search of more game. 

They rode southward, keeping their eyes open 
right and left, but for a long time nothing ap- 
peared but jack-rabbits, and a couple of great 
rattling cranes, which Zeph was tempted to shoot 
at, but couldn’t afford the ammunition. Away 
off near the southern extremity of the mesa could 
be seen, sharp and clear against the sky, and as 
blue as a sapphire, the roughly outlined crags of 
the Butte. 

“ Let’s go down there,” Zeph proposed. “ Deer 
like to stay around such a place, and I’d like to 
see it anyhow.” 

Heading their horses in that direction, they 
broke into a gallop which carried them in two 
minutes to the top of a swell in the prairie, and 
as they rose above it, what should they see but a 
band of antelope — half a dozen of them, scurry- 
ing away down the slope. The horses caught 
sight of the game at the same instant and did not 
need the touch of the spurs. Away they rushed 
down the long slope, stretching out their legs, 


M 


1 62 An Island in the Air 

reaching forward their noses, and racing neck to 
neck. 

But the antelope could run too. Seeing that 
they were really being chased, and now thoroughly 
alarmed, they bounded forward, exciting the horses 
to increased efforts to overtake them. Straight 
on ran the chase, up and down slopes, now leap- 
ing some clump of sage-brush or a patch of low 
and thorny greasewood, now flying over a badger- 
hole, now up one of the low swells and then down 
another. Two or three times the riders were 
nearly raked off by the low limbs of some pinon, 
and again were scratched by the twigs of a cedar 
as they brushed past. It was a glorious ride, but 
a little too much like a runaway, and — 

“ There, it has come at last ! ” thought Zeph, 
as he went flying over his horse’s ears out toward 
the horizon. He landed in a bunch of sage-brush, 
which was only a shade better than in a bed of 
cactus, and came to his senses to see Andy dash- 
ing pell-mell up the next ridge and his own horse 
struggling out of the gopher-hole into which he 
had stumbled, and then careering after his mate. 

Zeph gathered these facts into his half-dazed 
head just in time to scramble to his feet and 
wave his hand to Andy as he disappeared. He 
was scratched and sore in a dozen places, but not 
seriously hurt, and hobbled over to where his gun 


Preparations for a Campaign 163 

lay on the ground, half full of dust, and sat down 
again to examine and clean that precious article. 
It, too, seemed to have escaped without serious 
harm, and he at once set about putting it in order. 
To try to follow the runaways on foot was use- 
less, so he limped to the top of the nearest swell 
and lay down to wait until they should come back. 

The air was still and warm, a few massive and 
snow-white clouds floated across the azure canopy 
above him, and in the north the creamy San Juan 
crests, supported by pedestals of blue and brown 
now very distinctly in view, were magnificent in 
their serene and solid grandeur and in their har- 
mony of coloring. Watching them in dreamy 
fashion, perhaps he fell asleep ; but at any rate 
he suddenly awoke to the fact that two ante- 
lopes were trotting toward him over the back of 
the next low ridge. 

Zeph happened to be lying upon his face at 
full length in the tall grass, and his rifle was 
within easy reach. Drawing it carefully toward 
him, he brought it slowly to his shoulder. The 
animals were too far off as yet, and they had a 
restless way of running and then stopping, jump- 
ing about, halting and looking back, which would 
have made a shot difficult even had they been 
near. 

He concluded, therefore, that these must be 


164 


An Island in the Air 


two of those that Andy had been chasing, which 
had separated from the band, but were not yet 
over their fright. Antelopes are full of curiosity, 
and Zeph remembered that hunters sometimes 
tolled them up within range by lying down and 
kicking up their heels or waving a handkerchief ; 
but he reasoned that that plan would not work 
now, because these animals were frightened and 
suspicious to the last degree. There was not a 
particle of shelter behind which he could creep 
nearer to the game, and he was at his wits’ end 
how to obtain a shot, when he heard a faint halloo 
away off beyond them. Then another. The ante- 
lopes also heard the noise, raised their heads and 
pricked up their ears. At the second shout they 
sprang into a gallop, showing plainly that they felt 
themselves again pursued and meant to lose no 
time in getting a long start. 

Zeph’s grip tightened on his rifle. This was 
his last chance. If they kept straight on, they 
would pass by him at no great distance. 

As rapidly yet with as little motion as possible, 
he screwed his body around into a better position 
and waited. The fleet pair, panic-stricken and 
breathless, darted on, and in two minutes were 
breasting the ridge where he lay. When they 
had reached the top, and were perhaps a hundred 
yards distant, he would fire. Ten seconds later 


Preparations for a Campaign 165 

they were there. The boy held his breath, took 
a quick glance along the barrel, aiming at the 
buck’s fore shoulder, and pulled the trigger. The 
thud of the bullet came plainly to his ears, and 
the buck leaped into the air, while the doe, turn- 
ing on her heels, as on a pivot, darted away with 
frantic speed. Then a loud call rang over the 
prairie, and Andy came loping across the hollow, 
leading the captured horse, and hastening to learn 
what the shot meant. 

The story was as Zeph had suspected. Andy’s 
excited horse had become almost ungovernable, 
and, seeing Zeph pick himself up unhurt, the 
Doctor went straight on. The antelopes had 
scattered, and finally his nag stopped because 
it had no more breath left. 

So the pair returned proudly to camp long be- 
fore sundown, with meat enough for the present, 
and a good story to tell, and cleaned and hung 
the antelope beside the deer. 

But the end of this day’s adventures was not 
yet. 

Supper was over, and the lovely hour of twi- 
light, made more lovely to-night by a moonrise, 
had come. Cora and Annie, who, true to her 
promise, was now nearly restored to health, started 
for a little stroll up the stream. They had been 
gone perhaps fifteen minutes when the boys lying 


1 66 An Island in the Air 

about the fire were astonished to see them come 
flying back. 

“ There’s an Indian in the spring,” gasped Cora. 
“ He’s lying down and moaning terribly. O dear, 
what can it mean ! ” 

The three lads sprang to their feet, each seiz- 
ing the nearest weapon. 

“ We’ll soon see,” said Andy, grimly, and strode 
off, with the others at his heels. 

Three minutes brought them to the spring, and 
to a redman prone upon its bank with one foot 
and ankle in the water. 

The instant this figure was perceived Andy, 
checking the oncoming group by a motion of his 
left hand, threw the shot-gun up to his shoulder 
and fired. 



CHAPTER XXII 

EXHIBITS A SURGEON’S SKILL IN AN EMERGENCY 

Startled at the report of the gun, the Indian 
struggled into a sitting posture, and his hand 
clutched at the rude haft of a knife hanging in a 
beaded sheath at his belt; but seeing who were 
approaching, he dropped back again with a groan, 
murmuring hoarsely two words, which no one 
but Andy understood, or perhaps heard, — 

“ Culebra ! Aguardiente ! ” 

“ A rattlesnake has bitten him ! Look there 
— I shot it,” and Andy pointed to a brown reptile 
writhing on the rocks just beyond. “ I’ll be back 
in a minute.” 

Before any one could ask why, he was running 

167 


i68 


An Island in the Air 


away toward camp as fast as his long legs could 
carry him. Zeph smashed the snake quite dead 
with a stone and then tossed its body out of sight 
among the rocks. 

In five minutes Andy was back, bringing a tall, 
black bottle, opening it with the corkscrew which 
was one of the implements in a wonderful knife 
whose handle was full of small tools — a sort of 
pocket tool-chest which every pioneer of those 
days sought to possess. 

“ It’s some of father’s medicinal whiskey that 
by good luck was left in the ambulance, and here’s 
my pocket surgical case, and that precious bottle 
of hartshorn you found the other day in the coat. 
It’ll be worth its weight in gold to that redskin.” 

It was surprising and interesting to every one in 
the little circle to see what a change had come 
over their brother. He was no longer the care- 
less, boyish woodsman and comrade. He had 
suddenly become a capable surgeon, swiftly and 
silently doing the right thing, and no one dreamed 
of interfering by word or deed. 

Mixing a cup of whiskey and water, he placed it 
at the lips of the man whose head Zeph supported, 
and whose senses and energies were fast becoming 
benumbed by the potency of the poison. The 
Indian drank it eagerly, and then a second cup, 
while the girls looked on in a pitying amazement. 


A Surgeon's Skill 169 

“Won’t it make him awfully drunk?” asked 
Annie. 

“No — its stimulation will all be expended in 
keeping the heart going; and that’s what I want 
just now.” 

The Indian had been struck on the great toe. 
The foot and leg were already greatly swollen, 
and when Andy had stripped off the moccasin and 
slit up the tight buckskin legging, he found the 
skin around the puncture, where only a single 
fang had penetrated, a greenish black, and this 
baneful color was spreading. 

Taking from his case a lancet the doctor deeply 
lanced the wound, the Indian showing little sign 
of pain, and then when the blood was spurting 
freely, made with his handkerchief a ligature 
about the calf of the leg, twisting it as tight as he 
could by the help of a stick which was then tied 
firmly in place. This done Andy took some of 
the pasty hartshorn out of the vial, into which he 
had poured a few drops of water, and pressed it 
into the wound. 

“ I wish it were pure ammonia,” he muttered. 
“ But it may do the business.” 

Then he diluted some of it with more water, and 
taking from his case a small, needle-pointed hypo- 
dermic syringe he thrust it into a vein in the foot 
and injected the liquid two or three times. By 


170 An Island in the Air 

the time this operation was concluded the patient 
had fainted. 

“Here — get water, somebody, and bring him 
to. This won’t do ! ” 

Carter rushed down to the spring and brought 
a hatful of water which was dashed into the dark, 
wrinkled face. Gradually consciousness returned, 
and the man opened his eyes with a start of sur- 
prise and fear, only to shut them immediately with 
pain. A moment later, however, he revived 
somewhat, and whispered in rough Spanish : — 

“ Give me my wallet.” 

But no one could find it until Annie noticed 
beneath the man’s body something like a leather 
haversack twisted into the horsehair rope which 
was wound about his waist in many folds. Un- 
winding this, and loosening its fastenings, they 
handed it to the savage, who, arousing himself 
with an effort, aided by another sip of liquor, drew 
from it various queer articles, until at last he 
found some dried stems and leaves of a small 
plant, which he stuffed into his mouth and 
chewed as though they were the sweetest morsels 
he had ever tasted. 

“ That is some herb he knows or thinks will 
cure him,” said Andy, and offered no objection 
when the old man — for it was evident he was 
well advanced in years — worked himself forward 


A Surgeon's Skill 171 

until he could again plunge his foot and leg into 
the spring. 

“ He says the water is healing.” 

“ I allow he’s right,” Zeph remarked. “ I re- 
member seeing a horse in Kansas which was bitten 
in the nose by a rattler. He went to the river 
and stayed there, keeping his head, which was 
’most as big as a barrel, under water all the time ; 
just lifted his nose out to take a breath, and then 
back again. They said he’d been there two days, 
and was getting well.” 

Nothing further could now be done, and all sat 
down and waited for the development of symp- 
toms, better or worse. 

“ What good do the ammonia and whiskey do 
him ? ” Annie asked, examining curiously the 
little hypodermic injector. “Are they antidotes 
of the poison ? ” 

“ Not exactly, but they set up a counteraction 
and repair the damage — at any.rate the ammonia 
does. You see, the effect of the venom is not 
only to paralyze the nerve-centres to a greater or 
less degree, but to decompose the blood, causing 
the red particles in it, called ‘ corpuscles,’ to sepa- 
rate from the other constituents and form clots, 
which, if the trouble goes on far enough, produces 
death. The effect of ammonia, or any other 
strong alkaline substance, — I should have used 


172 


An Island in the Air 


permanganate of potash if I had had it, — is to pre- 
vent this, restore the blood to its normal condi- 
tion, and so repair the evil. As for the whiskey, 
that aids by stimulating the system generally, 
but especially by increasing the action of the 
heart, thus pumping the blood more rapidly and 
forcibly through the arteries and overcoming 
stagnation. But it is worse than useless to fill a 
man full of whiskey as they sometimes do. I 
believe in more than one case they have killed 
with alcohol a patient that might otherwise have 
got well. It all depends, after all, upon how much 
of the venom gets into the system.” 

While listening to this explanation Zeph had 
been looking at the moccasin which had been 
taken off the Indian’s foot. Its toe showed a 
single puncture only, and about it was a little 
ring of greenish, frothy moisture. 

“ It’s plain the varmint got only one fang in, 
and that a good deal of the poison was wiped off 
on this leather,” he said. 

“Yes,” Andy agreed. “I guess he got a 
light dose or his leg would have swollen more. 
I think he’ll pull through, but I mean to give 
him another injection before it gets too dark to 
work.” 

He spoke to the Indian, who was too stupefied 
to seem to understand, and made no objection to 


A Surgeon's Skill 173 

the operation, but went on sleepily chewing the 
wad of dried leaves. 

“ Do you suppose it is really some sort of anti- 
dote he is chewing ? ” somebody asked. 

“ I shouldn’t wonder. They say the Indians do 
know such plants ; and they say that when a deer 
is bitten, it will eat a certain plant and cure itself.” 

“ Do you believe it, Andy ? ” 

“ I am not sure but I do. I know that there 
are plants in Michigan that are called rattlesnake 
weeds. They would be of no use, but that doesn’t 
prove there may not be something good here.” 

It was now dark. 

“ Carter,” said Andy, “ you and Cote go back 
to camp and brisk up the fire, and take the horse- 
blankets and other things and fix up as good a 
bed as you can in the hut. Zeph and I will rig 
up some kind of a stretcher and take our friend 
into camp. Bring me one of the blankets.” 

“ Take him to preamp ? ” cried Cora, in alarm. 

“Why, of course! You wouldn’t leave him 
out here to perish of cold or to be jumped on by 
a mountain-lion, would you ? ” 

“ I didn’t know any mountain-lions were ’round 
here,” exclaimed the girl, forgetting her dread of 
Indians in this new suggestion of another peril. 

“ I don’t know that there are, but it is likely 
enough.” 



CHAPTER XXIII 

WHEREIN IS RECORDED A THRILLING ADVENTURE 

A rude stretcher was easily contrived out of 
two poles and a horse-blanket, upon which the 
Indian, who could do little or nothing to help 
himself, was borne to camp. Andy said he would 
come out of the stupor presently, but would prob- 
ably be ill, weak, and full of pain for several days. 

Here was another set-back in their plans, and 
another sick member of the little community to 
be cared for ; and the girls, especially, were com- 
pletely disgusted. 

“ I wonder why he is all alone,” Cora said. “ I 
thought Indians always travelled in bands.” 

“ Oh, not always,” she was told ; “ but they do 
*74 


A Thrilling Adventure 175 

generally go about in family parties at least, and 
it is curious that this old fellow is alone. I 
wonder if it is the one who frightened you girls 
so much the other day ? ” 

“Well,” Cora confessed, “as to that I can’t say. 
He don’t look so terrible as that one did, but then 
it’s different now. If so, very likely he is the 
same one that Zeph and Carter afterward saw, 
and who left the rabbit bones in that house on 
the rocks.” 

By the time the patient, still in a dazed con- 
dition, had been made comfortable, midnight had 
nearly come, and everybody was well tired out. 
Carter, however, who had had the easiest day’s 
work, agreed to sit up to look after the fire and 
the Indian while the rest of the camp went to bed. 
In general, of course, nobody played sentinel : the 
two dogs attended to that. 

The illness which Dr. Andy had predicted, 
followed, and for several days little could be done 
by anybody except nurse the old man and keep 
meat in the larder. The experiment of “ jerk- 
ing ” venison did not succeed. The meat spoiled 
instead of drying hard and sound, and the boys 
concluded something was wrong with their method 
of preparation. 

On one of these waiting days Carter proposed 
to carry out his idea of lying in wait for game 


176 


An Island in the Air 


which came nightly to drink from the river. The 
older brother agreed, and the methods of African 
hunters were to be imitated by building a sort of 
“ blind ” or place of concealment where they could 
watch to the best advantage. A spot was there- 
fore chosen in the afternoon near the water beside 
a certain game-trail some distance below the camp 
where their guns could command the bank at the 
most likely drinking point, and there a shallow 
pit was dug and surrounded by a low barricade 
sufficient to hide them. After supper, however, 
Andy confessed he didn’t feel like sitting out the 
night, and asked Zeph to take his place. 

Just at moonrise the boys took their rifles, and 
having tied Nig so that she would not follow 
them, prepared to begin their vigil. Then Cora 
suddenly announced that she meant to go too. 
Carter sneered and Zeph argued, but the girl 
declared that if she couldn’t do them any good, 
she would do no harm, and she wanted to see the 
fun ; and the upshot of it was that the young lady 
had her way, and Bimber also had to be tied up, 
for where his mistress went he proposed to go too, 
and this time he wasn’t in the least wanted. But 
it is difficult to make a dog comprehend that 
“circumstances alter cases,” and he whined and 
cried at the end of his rope until even Nig com- 
manded him to shut up. 


A Thrilling Adventure 177 

All three nestled down inside the barricade 
and waited and watched. The night was cool, 
although it was now midsummer, and Cora was 
soon glad that she had brought a blanket. A 
July moon was shooting its beams through the 
scant and trembling foliage of the cottonwoods 
that overhung the stream, and doing its best to 
penetrate the darkness that lurked among the 
underbrush. The gentlest of breezes fluttered 
the topmost leaves, yet scarcely made any noise, 
and the gurgle and tinkle of the water dashing 
over the pebbles were the only sounds to break 
the stillness of the great wilderness in which 
they were almost alone, and apparently deserted. 
That this still-hunting, which now seemed merely 
an amusement, might soon become a regular oc- 
cupation, upon which the lives of the party would 
depend, was a thought that in one form or an- 
other came into the minds of all three. Thought 
is free, and the imagination expands in the silence 
and greatness of a night out of doors. The “ in- 
fluences of the stars ” tend to make every soul 
serious, if not sad, and to impress upon those who 
are in trouble or danger the full weight of what- 
ever rests upon their hearts. 

How long these reveries lasted it would be 
hard to say ; but the moon had risen until its 
beams were poured straight down upon the nar- 

N 


i ?8 


An Island in the Air 


row game-path that led to the river’s brink before 
a sudden grip upon Zeph’s hand by Cora’s fingers 
warned him that her quick ears had detected 
some unusual noise. 

“ Listen ! ” she whispered. “ What’s that ? ” 
And if her hand trembled a little in his, it should 
not be surprising, when we think how strange a 
situation for a young girl this was. 

Zeph heard the sound now, — a pit-pat , pit-pat 
coming nearer and louder, until at last a dark 
form, very vaguely outlined, was dimly visible 
among the shadows toward the river. 

And just at that instant, to their dismay and 
rage, Bimber came flying from the rear into their 
retreat, wagging his tail, climbing into Cora’s 
arms, and licking her face in the extravagant way 
these fond fox-terriers have. His collar jingled, 
but by good luck the dog did not bark, and Cora 
instantly muffled him under her blanket. 

“ I see it — plain ! ” whispered Carter, excitedly. 
“ It’s a deer — I see its horns.” 

“ Can you get a bead on its head or shoulder ? ” 
Zeph whispered back. 

“ Yes — first rate.” 

“ Fire, then ! ” 

Carter needed no further orders, and felt no 
tremors of “buck fever.” Aiming steadily, he 
pulled the trigger — the animal bounded into the 


A Thrilling Adventure 179 

air, and fell, and at the same moment a rustling 
was heard in the brush at the left, which they 
supposed indicated the presence there of another 
deer ; but paying no attention to it all three 
jumped up, and the two boys ran down toward 
the game, while Cora halted in the moonlit path. 

Carter had plunged into the bushes and Zeph 
was on the point of following him, when he 
was suddenly arrested by a peculiar sharp yelp 
from Bimber — a yelp of unmistakable terror and 
defiance. Turning quickly, his heart seemed to 
stop beating, and every nerve to become paralyzed 
with horror. Cora — his special friend and cham- 
pion, Cora! — was standing like a statue in the 
white glare of the moonlight, still as if frozen 
there, and was gazing fascinated with fear at a 
mountain-lion, whose lithe, tawny form, crouched 
along the ground for a deadly spring, was half 
seen in the shadows beyond. The light swish 
of its tail, lashing back and forth against the 
dewy weeds, could be heard above the low growl- 
ing which showed its rage toward the terrier, who 
had discovered the great cat, and had diverted its 
attention at the very instant of its intended leap. 

And now Bimber, every hair erect, nerving his 
foolish little heart to defend his mistress, was 
dashing out and back, yelping and barking, alter- 
nating between boldness and cowardice in the 


i8o An Island in the Air 

face of that terrifying foe, afraid to advance, yet 
determined not to retreat. 

All this came to Zeph in a flash. Carter was 
behind him, he did not know where, and useless 
anyway, for his gun was empty. The girl stood 
almost directly between him and the puma, so 
that he could see nothing more than the animal’s 
head. His own shock was over now and his 
mind was clear and working swiftly. If he 
moved one side, he thought, a bush would come 
between them ; if he rushed forward, the animal 
would surely spring upon both. 

“ Stand perfectly still, Cora,” he called out 
steadily. “ I must shoot close past your shoulder. 
Don’t stir ! ” 

The girl made no answer — perhaps she could 
not have spoken if she would. Her tongue re- 
fused to obey her. Her muscles were rigid, her 
limbs fixed, and in the face of those terrible eyes 
she never thought of danger from the bullet. 

Zeph, too, saw those eyes, catching the moon- 
light and scintillating like gems just beyond his 
friend’s shoulder, as the puma, as if to remeasure 
the distance, partly rose upon its feet, and the dog 
doubled its clamor; and with a thought’s prayer 
to heaven he glanced along the line of light upon 
his barrel’s ridge into their burning depths and 
pressed the trigger. 


A Thrilling Adventure 181 

A mighty roar burst out of the darkness, the 
panther reared upright, fell over, and then crashed 
away through the bushes, while Cora sank to her 
knees and pitched forward unconscious. 

As hurriedly as possible Zeph and Carter re- 
loaded their rifles, — then a work of time, for 
breech-loaders and the quick shoving in of fresh 
cartridges were yet known only to a favored few. 
This necessary precaution taken, to raise the girl 
and restore her to consciousness was the work of 
only a few moments, and then all went home to 
tell the story of how Bimber and Zeph together 
had saved the girl’s life, and how Carter had 
bagged his first deer. 

“ Old man,” cried Andy, as he wrung Zeph’s 
hand and threw his arm affectionately about his 
shoulder, “ it was the nerviest thing I ever heard 
of. You have the making of a hero in you ! ” 

“He is a hero,” declared Annie, enthusiastically, 
“ and here’s another ! ” and then she snatched up 
Bimber and hugged that bewildered doggie till 
he almost bit her in his struggle to get away. 

The morning after this terrible adventure was 
spent in gathering the results of the night’s work. 
The deer was untouched, though a pair of coyotes, 
seen sneaking away on the opposite side of the 
river, showed what might have happened had not 


182 


An Island in the Air 


the boys been on hand early. Dividing the car- 
cass into halves, it was carried to camp, and then 
Zeph and Andy, taking dogs and rifles, started 
upon the trail of the panther, in spite of the pro- 
tests of the girls. 

Nig’s nose was of the keenest, and when she 
came to where the animal had been shot, she did 
not need a second whiff to tell her its name and 
assure her that she desired no further acquaint- 
ance. Dropping her ears and tail, she promptly 
trotted off toward camp, paying no attention what- 
ever to the command of her master to return. 
She made it understood that she was a bird-dog 
and wanted nothing to do with cats, big or little. 

Bimber, on the other hand, was eager for the 
fray. Here was his old enemy, and he wanted 
to get at him. With a whine of joy he took up 
the trail and dashed through the bushes faster 
than the young men could follow. The signs of 
the panther’s hasty passage, and here and there 
blood on the leaves, showed it had been badly 
wounded. The trail quickly led out of the 
thickets along the stream, and into the open, 
where the dog’s nose led them straight on toward 
the rocks near the mouth of the stream, and there 
they found the puma, lying dead with a bullet- 
hole in its neck. They tied its feet together 
and slung it to a pole and carried it to camp in 


A Thrilling Adventure 183 

triumph; and the Indian, who had been told the 
story, pushed aside the brush of his hut to peer 
out, and his eyes brightened as the boys with 
their burden appeared. 

“ Ah,” he said, “ he is the father of all the game, 
and the Great Panther is king of the hunter-gods.” 

Zeph, as has been said, had brought with him 
materials for preserving hides, of which he had 
expected, when he started W est, to obtain a great 
many more than, so far, he had even seen. Under 
his direction the skin was carefully removed, and 
the day was spent mainly in properly preparing 
it for preservation with the hair on, so that when 
they reached their journey’s end — and no one 
would confess that this situation in which they 
now found themselves was anything more than a 
temporary delay — the hide might be tanned into 
a handsome rug. 

As a matter of fact the plan was realized. And 
when, years afterward, Cora was Mrs. Zeph McAl- 
lister, and this tawny skin lay sprawling before 
the open fire in her drawing-room, no story of 
her adventurous girlhood was more eagerly lis- 
tened to by her friends than that of how her hus- 
band had killed it ; and of the brave little dog 
who had long since gone to that happy hunting- 
ground which somewhere surely awaits such 
bright and noble souls as his. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

DISCLOSES THE ANGER OF THE RAIN-GODS 

The swelling in the Indian’s foot and leg gradu- 
ally went down. By the fourth day he could sit 
up, and on the afternoon of the fifth was able to 
hobble out of the hut and sit in the sunshine, 
which never seemed too hot for him, though he 
wore no head-gear except a kind of crown of 
leaves, which gave him a quaint and picturesque 
appearance, but was of little practical service. 

His clothes were wholly of buckskin, more in 
the shape of civilized garments (though the shirt 
was worn outside the leggings) than was the 
scanty attire of the Comanches and other wild 
Indians our emigrants had seen. He had one of 

184 


The Anger of the Rain-gods 185 

those finely woven, handsomely striped, red, blue, 
and white blankets made by the Navajo and 
Apache weavers from the wool of their own 
sheep, and carried a small willow bow and half a 
dozen arrows. These weapons were contained in 
a double case or quiver made of prairie-dog skins, 
ornamented and tasseled, and carried slung over 
his shoulder, leaving his hands free. His waist 
was encircled, in place of a belt, by a horsehair 
rope, such as the Mexicans use as a lariat, or 
picket-rope, for their horses, and in this was stuck 
his knife and the fringed and beaded pouch be- 
fore mentioned, containing a lot of small articles 
the uses of which the boys could not understand, 
— among the rest a tied bundle of queer sticks 
and several curious little images of clay and of 
wood, some of which resembled frogs and other 
aquatic animals, some the human figure, while 
others were like nothing they had ever seen. He 
had nothing else except a decanter-shaped, basket- 
work canteen, so closely woven and well daubed 
with pitch that it would hold water like a bottle. 

In stature he was rather small, but spare and 
sinewy. His face was very dark; the features, 
though full of wrinkles, were fine and sharp ; and 
instead of parting his hair in the middle and 
lengthening it out with strips of fur into two long 
plaits intended to hang down on each shoulder, 


i86 


An Island in the Air 


as other Indians they had seen were in the habit 
of doing, he wore it cut squarely off across the 
forehead like a schoolgirl’s, and long behind his 
head, where usually it was rolled up into a knot, 
but sometimes hung free, confined by a fillet of 
buckskin around the forehead. 

During all this time they had learned little or 
nothing about the man. No one, indeed, could 
talk with him except Andy, and he refused to do 
so until his patient was fairly well. 

The evening of the day after Cora’s thrilling 
adventure the old fellow sat by the fire and re- 
ceived his supper with the rest, smiling a “ Gra- 
tias ! ” every time Annie, who had taken it upon 
herself to attend to him, — all fear or repugnance 
had long ago vanished from their minds, — offered 
him a portion of the food. Andy gave him, after 
the meal, a plug of tobacco; and he filled his 
pipe and revelled in it, his own tobacco being 
largely a mixture of coarse leaf, red-willow bark, 
dried barberry leaves, etc. As all gathered round 
the big fire, Andy thought the time had come to 
question their guest, and all the rest were on 
tiptoe to hear. 

“ Friend,” Andy began, “ we are very glad to 
find that you are getting well and can sit with us 
by the fire. We will gladly tell you about our- 
selves, and why we are here, but first we should 


The Anger of the Rain-gods 187 

like to know something about you. Tell us your 
name and tribe.” 

The old fellow smoked silently for a moment, 
then answered : — 

“ I am a Moki from the pueblo of Whalpi, 
many days’ journey in that direction,” pointing 
southwest. “ I am the oldest and most learned 
Priest of the Fire in my village, and it would be 
unlucky for me to say my name aloud. My wife 
will tell it to you if you will honor my poor 
pueblo by coming to visit it. All that is there 
shall be yours. I know that is what the white 
men [he meant Mexican Spaniards] always say, 
out of mere politeness, but I mean it exactly — 
all I have may be yours, for you have saved my 
life.” 

“ Tell him we’ll go right off,” Annie exclaimed, 
when his words had been translated, “if he will 
show us the way.” 

The Indian smiled when Andy had repeated 
this to him in Spanish, but only said “ Bueno,” in 
a hearty way. 

Then Andy put the next and most natural of 
questions : — 

“ How did you get here, and do you know a 
way down from the mesa ? ” 

“ I came by the valley in the west and across 
the neck of land which is now gone,” he an- 


1 88 An Island in the Air 

swered. “ I had walked many days, and often at 
night, creeping through the canyons over there,” 
pointing to the southwest, “ and hiding away from 
the Navajos, who are the enemies of the Mokis. 
They steal our sheep and goats, and carry off our 
young men and our maidens whenever they can 
surprise them in the fields. They are out raiding 
the country now; but they dare not fight our 
men in the open,” cried the old warrior, his form 
straightening and his eyes flashing like a hawk’s. 
“ They are cowards ! Their hearts are as the 
hearts of women.” 

“ Then why did you come so far among them 
alone ? ” 

“ Every year, in the beginning of this month,” 
he answered solemnly, “ I must visit this spring 
on the mesa, where my grandfathers lived many, 
many generations ago. You can see the founda- 
tions of their ancient town up there on the ridge, 
and the cliff-houses that the gods helped them to 
build. It is a sacred spring, and I, the head 
priest of my people, must come and say prayers 
and offer sacrifices to the spirits who dwell about 
the water. They are the gods to whom the Sun, 
the great Chief of gods, has given the rain ; and 
if we did not honor and thank them, they would 
send no more water to fill our irrigating ditches 
or moisten our fields. Our crops of com and 


189 


The Anger of the Rain-gods 

vegetables and our orchards of peaches and 
plums and melons would wither and we should 
starve.” 

The reader can imagine what a sensation this 
remarkable statement created in that camp-fire 
circle ; and no wonder all found themselves glanc- 
ing at the ledges, half visible in the moonlight, as 
though their eyes might surprise some of these 
divinities, that seemed so substantial and matter- 
of-fact to their visitor, even then standing about 
the old houses and looking down at the strange 
invaders of their consecrated valley. 

“ I was stepping down the rocks to the sacred 
spring,” the old man went on, after smoking 
thoughtfully a few minutes, “ in order that I 
might tell the gods of these things, and throw 
into the water my offerings of tobacco and of the 
fruit of our fields, and pray to them to send us 
good rains again next year. Also, I was going to 
explain to them how you came here through acci- 
dent and misfortune, and would do no harm.” 

“ Why, how did you know that ? ” 

“ I saw you come on the night of the storm, 
and have been watching you to see what kind of 
young people you were. I intended to tell you 
on the day after the storm where your horses 
were, but the senoritas were so frightened I did 
not try it again. As I was saying, I was stepping 


An Island in the Air 


190 

down to the spring when the snake struck me. 
It is a sign — I do not fear the rattlesnake. He 
knows me and will not bite me if I do not hurt 
him ; and this wound shows me that the gods are 
angry with the Molds.” 

He paused, looking sober and troubled. These 
sun-gods and rain-gods were very real to his sim- 
ple faith. After a little time, Andy, who had 
translated this curious story to the others, re- 
minded their guest of what all were so anxious 
to know by asking him again : — 

“ Can you tell us the way to get down to the 
valley ? ” 

The curious eyes of all the group were bent 
upon him with intense interest, and he evidently 
understood their feelings, for he cast down his 
eyes, and his voice took a low tone as he slowly 
answered, shaking his head : — 

“ There is no longer any way. The gods have 
cut in two the path behind me. I must re- 
main here until I die ; and after I am gone my 
people can make no more suitable sacrifices, for 
no one but me knows where this home of the 
rain-gods is, and now they will not let me go back 
to instruct my son in the secret. No more rain 
will fall, and the nation will perish.” 

And then the old man began to rock his body 
to and fro, and to croon, in his own language, a 


The Anger of the Rain- gods 191 

strange chant which needed no words to express 
the despair of a hopeless heart, sorrowing, not 
for himself, but for his people deserted by their 
heavenly benefactors. He had evidently forgotten 
all about the troubles of his young listeners ; and 
they were to be baffled and vexed many times 
afterward by this absent-minded indifference of 
the old priest, which did not arise from selfish- 
ness, but came from a lifetime of brooding. 



CHAPTER XXV 

SURVEYS THE BORDERS OF THE MESA CAREFULLY 

The words of old Whalpi, as they had come to 
call the venerable Moki since he had objected to 
telling his name, so dramatically and earnestly 
uttered, could not fail to impress deeply all who 
had listened. To judge by their faces, Annie and 
Carter gave up all hope on the spot, and were 
already preparing their minds for a slow death. 
Zeph, on the contrary, plainly announced it to be 
his opinion that the “ head priest ” was a super- 
stitious old humbug, and his croaking was all bosh. 

This courageous view of the matter was refresh- 
ing, and Cora supported it with a bold “ I think 
so, too.” 


192 


193 


The Borders of the Mesa 

“ If I don’t find a road out of this here scrape 
inside of a week, I’ll eat my red head,” Zeph con- 
tinued resolutely, and again Cora backed him up, 
— “ If you don’t, I will,” leaving it to the sense of 
the rest to decide whether she meant she would 
eat his red head or find a way out. 

At any rate, faltering hearts were braced, and 
the outcome of the talk about the fire after the 
Indian had retired was a resolution to get out of 
their predicament if wit and activity could do it, 
and to lose no time about it. 

Accordingly, early next morning, an expedition 
started out to begin a minute examination of the 
cliffs. It consisted of Zeph, Annie, and Carter, 
Andy staying in camp with Cora. “ To-morrow,” 
said old Whalpi, when he was informed of the 
purpose of the movement, and perhaps catching 
the spirit of the cheerful bustle, “to-morrow I 
shall be well, and will go and look with you, for 
it may be the gods are trying me, and will give 
me one more chance.” 

“ I allow my gods won’t help me until I help 
myself,” Zeph declared, “so come on, you fellows.” 

They chose the western side of the mesa be- 
cause this was the least known, certain parts of 
it having scarcely been seen ; and began back at 
the ridge where they had camped under the 
shelter of the stone ledges showing fire marks. 


i 9 4 


An Island in the Air 


The edge of the mesa there was gashed by 
ravines and broken places, sometimes several hun- 
dred yards deep, forming great V-shaped alcoves 
in the upper layers of the line of cliffs. 

Between these ravines were headlands, out upon 
which they could walk, until they could gaze 
down into the alcoves and survey the walls, here 
five or six hundred feet in height. The bottom 
third of this height, however, was hidden by a 
sloping heap or talus of the fragments continually 
dropping from the face of the cliffs. 

The rocks were all of the same kind — cream- 
colored and red sandstones lying in almost level 
strata, or layers, like courses of gigantic masonry. 
Some of the layers were slightly harder than 
others, and these, not wearing away as fast as the 
adjoining strata, formed ledges where cedars and 
various small trees, planted by the wind or birds, 
grew in a gnarled and precarious fashion. 

“ It’s dead sure nobody could climb down 
here,” was Zeph’s opinion, as they stood on the 
first headland, and saw the overhanging masses 
of crag dropping like regular walls on both sides. 

They gathered the juicy, lemon-flavored fruit 
of the prickly pear as they went along, and found 
great quantities of the sweetish service-berry and 
some wild gooseberries and cherries, so that when 
they came to take luncheon on the tip of the third 


195 


The Borders of the Mesa 

promontory, which overlooked a magnificent pano- 
rama of richly colored and fantastically shaped 
crags and pinnacles opposite, with the far-away 
snowy mountains behind them, they had a most 
refreshing half hour, excepting for the lack of cool 
water. So far, however, no progress at all had 
been made toward their object, although two 
miles or more of the shore of their “ island in the 
air,” as Annie called it, had been surveyed. 

“ How far do you suppose it is around the 
edge of the mesa ? ” Zeph was asked. 

“Well, that is a hard one, as the man said 
when he bit on the wooden nutmeg. I reckon, 
not counting all the ins and outs of these capes 
and bays, that it must be more’n twenty-five 
miles ; but we’ve looked over the biggest half of 
it — and the more I see of it, the less I like it.” 

After half an hour’s halt they trudged on 
again through the hot sun, — very thirsty, for 
they had with them only two bottles of water, 
and this had grown sickishly warm. A coyote 
or two were seen, and once a deer and her fawn 
were disturbed in a hollow. Presently the party 
came to the head of a ravine of unusual length, 
which sloped at the top in a way that seemed 
encouraging; and this they decided to try to 
descend. 

At first they could scramble down quite easily, 


196 


An Island in the Air 


but after going a couple of hundred feet they 
found themselves on the brink of a steep declivity, 
where they had to be extremely cautious to escape 
slipping over the edge. By forming a chain of 
hands, Zeph holding firmly by a bush, Carter was 
let down to a lower ledge, and was able to walk 
along it a considerable distance, but soon came 
back to report that it ended in an impassable wall. 
So they pulled him up again and all climbed back 
to the surface. 

It was now too late to undertake the long jaunt 
out upon the next headland ; and tired, hungry, 
and thirsty, the trio took up their march for camp, 
a couple of miles away. Thus ended in failure 
the first search for a means of descent from their 
lofty prison. 

The following day two parties resumed the 
search where it had been left off, but when all 
had returned about sunset, none had had any 
distinct success with which to cheer the other. 
Each party had covered perhaps two miles by the 
day’s work, and both had crept down steep breaks 
in the cliffs, and had crawled along ticklish ledges, 
but these always came to an impassable end. 

On one of the ledges of the eastern wall Andy 
had found several stone houses similar to those in 
the rocks near the mouth of the river, and in one 
of them had discovered a whole example of a very 


i 9 7 


The Borders of the Mesa 

curious earthen pot, the peculiar style of which 
was the same as marked hundreds of the frag- 
ments lying about all the ruins. 

That evening Whalpi showed them how this 
kind of pot was made, by coiling a rope of wet 
clay into the form of a pot or pitcher or whatever 
was to be made, and pinching the coils together ; 
but he said no such pottery was fashioned nowa- 
days. He talked a great deal about his people, 
who, he said, used to dwell in all these canyons 
and on these mesas at a time long ago when rain 
fell in abundance and there was plenty of water in 
the rivers and in the irrigating ditches, and all the 
land was green and fruitful. He told them that 
these ancient villagers once inhabited great com- 
munity houses or “ pueblos,” constructed of stone 
or of sun-dried bricks, many stories in height, and 
similar to those the travellers had seen in the 
valley of the Rio Grande north of Santa Fe. 

These great tenements stood down in the bottom 
of the valleys beside the rivers, and were sur- 
rounded by large plantations. After a long time, 
according to his tale, “ Los Navajos ” and “ Los 
Utahs,” the rough-riding mountain Indians, be- 
gan to raid these villages and farms, and then the 
people built the houses in the cliffs and caves, 
and on the tops of almost inaccessible rocks and 
mesas, as storehouses and places of refuge against 


198 An Island in the Air 

the time of these raids ; but these cliff-houses 
were always placed on that side of the canyon 
facing the rising of the sun, which was the 
supreme object of worship. 

The adventures of the third day were much 
the same, and equally disappointing. That 
night the boys laid in wait for deer, but got 
none, and the camp went hungry. 

“ When next we kill a deer or antelope,” 
Whalpi advised them, “we must dry the flesh, 
Indian-fashion, so that it will keep a long time. 
I will teach you how.” 

The next day, accordingly, was devoted to a 
hunt, Zeph and Whalpi riding away early and 
not coming back till nearly sundown, but it had 
not taken all this time to find and shoot the deer 
they brought with them. They had been doing 
something else much of the time; and although 
the Indian was as calm as usual, the others saw 
at a glance that the white lad was brimful of 
news, and questions were hurled at him before 
he had jumped off his horse. 

“ We rode straight down to the rocky Butte,” 
said Zeph, “ and found at its base a valley some- 
thing like this, with a quiet little pond in the 
middle, very likely fed by our stream through 
some underground channel. Whalpi had never 
seen it before, yet there are ancient and extensive 


199 


The Borders of the Mesa 

ruins there; and on top of the Butte is a tall, 
round structure which Whalpi says was a watch- 
tower.” 

“ Didn’t you go beyond the Butte ? ” Cora 
asked, after he had given a lot more facts about 
the place. 

“Yes, we rode on over to the brink of the cliffs 
about a quarter of a mile eastward, and struck a 
great ravine leading downward from a long dis- 
tance back. We hadn’t time to go very far down 
it, but Whalpi and I both believe that it will open 
a way for us to get down to the valley.” 

“We must certainly look into it to-morrow,” 
said Andy; and the girls fairly danced as they 
ran away to prepare for a supper of fresh venison. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

BRINGS “ LOS NAVAJOS ” INTO VIEW, AND DIS- 
COURSES OF THEM 

Toward noon on the day following the hunt 
and the encouraging news, the whole party was 
seated upon the tip of a headland at the south- 
eastern and very loftiest corner of the mesa, over- 
looking a broad valley, where a river could be 
traced by lines of trees and thickets of willow 
which grew along its banks, and by bright glints 
of sunshine reflected here and there from its cur- 
rent. They had driven over in the ambulance, 
quite as much to exercise the mules, and keep 
them in working habits, as to save the four-mile 
tramp. The animals had rested and thriven 


200 


“Los Navajos ” 


201 


amazingly on the valley grass, and it was an 
exciting ride, in spite of Zeph’s skilful driving; 
and Whalpi, who had never before been in a real 
wagon, plainly showed his doubts about their 
safety, much to the amusement of his hosts. 

“Until I got him behind those mules,” Zeph 
said, when they were laughing about it afterward, 
“ I thought he was a real ‘wooden Injun,’ and was 
planning to take him out to the Coast and sell 
him to a cigar-store man.” 

All eyes were now concentrated upon two or 
three lines of color curling upward among the 
trees — plainly smoke from fires. 

“ Maybe it’s papa ! ” exclaimed Annie, raptur- 
ously. “ Oh, what if mamma should be there ! ” 

“ ’Fraid not,” said Zeph. “ Don’t see no wagon, 
though there’s something like a tent.” 

“ And horses,” added Cora, whose eyes were 
sharp. 

“ You’re right, sis,” Andy agreed. “Yet father 
might have gone back somewhere, and, leaving the 
schooner, have organized an expedition on horse- 
back to look us up ; but if that’s so, the expedition 
is a big one, for I can count a pile o’ horses.” 

“ Do you suppose he would think of looking up 
here ? ” Cora asked anxiously. 

“ Maybe some of the old mountain men in the 
Rio Grande villages have given him a hint,” Zeph 


202 


An Island in the Air 


suggested ; “ but nobody seems to be doing any- 
thing that looks like it.” 

“ Couldn’t we make a smoke and attract their 
attention ? ” exclaimed Annie. 

“ Why, of course we could — bright idea ! ” 
said Zeph, jumping up and beginning to gather 
dried grasses and greasewood twigs. “ This stuff 
will make a big fire, and if they see it and come 
over this way, we can make ourselves understood 
somehow.” 

“We might write a note and throw it down 
tied to a stone,” was Cora’s idea. 

“ Let’s ask the Indian,” said Annie. “ His eyes 
are keener than ours and he knows the country ; ” 
and she called out at once to Whalpi, who was 
lying on the grass at a distance nibbling at a 
chunk of dried deer-flesh. 

The old medicine man came at once in answer 
to the hail ; but when his gaze followed Annie’s 
pointing finger, and discovered what she saw, the 
bent and indolent lounger changed like magic 
into the savage tribesman and warrior. He 
straightened to his full height, seemed to cast 
off, as he might a mask, ten years of his age, 
and his countenance hardened into an expression 
of hatred and wrath. 

“ Los Navajos ! ” hissed through his teeth. 

Then he sat down and studied the scene ; but 


“Los Navajo s 99 


203 


it was long before Annie, at least, got over the 
fearsome impression this exhibition of tribal fe- 
rocity made upon her. 

“ They are a long way off,” he announced at 
length, “ and I cannot count their lodges among 
the bushes, but there must be many, for they have 
a large band of horses. It is a raiding party, and 
you must not make a smoke nor show yourselves. 
Lie down or keep back from the edge so they 
will not see you. They have eyes like that black 
vulture up there in the sky, and like him they 
are looking for prey.” 

Thus they remained for some time watching 
and talking about the distant camp of these 
dreaded warriors of the desert — the terror not 
only of the Pueblo-Indians, but of all the ranch- 
men on that frontier. Were they likely to stay 
in the valley so long as to interfere with the 
escape of the party, provided a place for descent 
could be found here ? and might not the Navajos 
themselves know of the trail, if one existed, and 
come wandering up here? To the latter alarm- 
ing query Whalpi answered : — 

“ No. There is nothing to tempt them to come 
here as long as they do not know about us. They 
would be afraid to come up here, anyway, for they 
think this mesa is bewitched, — so our young 
braves tell me. I suppose that is a tradition of 


204 


An Island in the Air 


the old times when our fathers lived here, and 
their fathers felt the wrath of the men and the 
gods who dwelt about the sacred spring.” 

But further questioning was put an end to by 
Andy’s reminder that this panicky gossip was 
wasting precious time. 

“You girls’d better stay here and keep your 
‘bright eyes’ on the redskins while we fellows 
explore the ravine. If we find anything worth 
looking at, we’ll let you know. Come on, boys ! 
Viene usted conmigo , Whalpi ? ” 

“ Si, sehor 



CHAPTER XXVII 

DESCRIBES A NOVEL TREE-CLIMBING 

Leaving the girls as watchers, Whalpi and the 
three lads hastened away upon their last hopeful 
exploration, carrying with them a couple of lariats 
which could be knotted into a rope some thirty 
feet long. 

They found no great difficulty in scrambling 
down the trough of the ravine, meeting with no 
adventure except the disturbance of a fox, which 
carried its brush into a convenient cranny in short 
order. The dogs were after him in an instant, 
and Carter after the dogs. Fortunately Nig got 
to the hole first, and found it too big for her ; but 
her fooling about it stopped the way long enough 

205 


206 


An Island in the Air 


for the boy to catch up and grab Bimber by the 
tail just as that plucky but indiscreet terrier was 
forcing his way in„ It was a mad little dog he 
dragged out, but Carter held him until he could 
kick a stone into the mouth of the fox’s den. 
Then he let the dog go, and Bimber stayed there 
for an hour scratching and fuming in a vain 
attempt to get at his enemy. 

Meanwhile the others had stopped while Whalpi 
scraped away from a rock a lot of lichens of a 
certain kind which he had found, and which he 
carefully stowed away in his wallet. They asked 
him what it was good for — was it good to 
eat ? 

“No, it is for paint; when it is dry and pow- 
dered, and then mixed with warm sheep-fat, it 
makes a fine yellow paint which our young men 
prize very highly for putting on their faces. I 
used to like it myself, when I was young and 
wanted to make a show,” the old man chuckled. 
“ But the Apaches,” he went on, “ say it gives 
more than prettiness to a man. An Apache 
always carries a little of this yellow paint with 
him, and now and then puts it on his face as a 
charm. One of their old men told me that if he 
should paint a cross-mark with it on his feet, he 
could go about, and nobody could see him. That 
would be a good thing in war, or when you go 


A Novel Tree- climbing 20 7 

stealing horses. Maybe it’s true with the Apaches, 
but I guess it wouldn’t do for a Moki.” 

Andy took a specimen of this lichen and found 
out, a year or so afterward, that it was called by 
botanists Evernia vulpina . 

Presently the dip of the ravine began to grow 
decidedly steeper, but cedars and mesquits grew 
abundantly. Holding by these, they were able to 
proceed slowly but safely a good bit farther, and 
finally reached a platform of smooth, naked rock 
on the face of the cliff, beyond which no descent 
seemed to be possible — which w.as most disheart- 
ening. Peering over the edge, however, they 
could see below it a series of ledges which looked 
climbable if they could be reached. 

“ How far down are they ? ” Carter asked. 

“ Fifty or sixty feet, I should say.” 

“ Couldn’t we let ourselves down by a rope ? ” 

“ I suppose so if we had one, but we haven’t ; 
and, besides that, we are not sure we could go 
any farther.” 

Meanwhile old Whalpi and Zeph had been 
scouting right and left, and a hail from the 
latter now came echoing up the rocks. Creep- 
ing through the bushes, they finally found their 
companion sitting on the edge of a ledge with 
his feet dangling down a crevice, out of which 
peeped the top of a pine tree. 


208 


An Island in the Air 


“ Look here ! ” he said. “ This yellow pine has 
grown from that ledge down there right up into 
this break. What’s to hinder our getting into the 
top of it and climbing down to its roots ? ” 

“ I never heard of anybody beginning at the 
top to climb a tree,” Andy laughed, “but I 
reckon it can be done.” 

“ I’m going to try it, anyhow ; ” and seizing the 
pliant top of the pine, Zeph pulled it toward him, 
placed his foot in a crotch, and swung off. He 
was soon lost to sight, but could be heard scram- 
bling down the trunk. 

“ The girls’ll have a sweet time going down 
that ladder,” Carter chuckled. 

Soon Zeph was heard singing out. 

“ Hello, yourself ! ” they responded. 

“ Bring down the rope. The trunk’s too big to 
shin, and it’s too far to jump.” 

Andy started, but Carter insisted that he wanted 
to do this acrobatic errand. So his brother helped 
him get into the waving upper branches, and a few 
moments later both lads reported themselves safe 
on the rocks below, which, they shouted, formed 
a broad and level shelf. Lying down, with 
their faces over the edge of their own ledge, 
Andy and the Indian could see those below very 
well. 

“ Hurry up,” they called out. “We can’t stay 


A Novel Tree- climbing 209 

here long if we expect to get back to camp 
to-night.” 

Thus admonished, the two ran about some, and 
soon returned to say that they felt sure they could 
get down to a certain long shelf which seemed 
pretty near the bottom of the cliffs, but that it 
was impossible to tell what lay beyond it. 

“ Looks as if that was the jumpin’-off place,” 
Zeph added. 

“Well, come back now. We must get out of 
this.” 

“ All right,” they answered, and disappeared 
toward the tree, where they had an immense 
amount of trouble in hauling themselves up to 
the lower branches of the pine again, even with 
the help of the rope which had been left dangling 
from the lowest limbs. It was, therefore, a weary 
company that finally joined the girls, — themselves 
by no means in jolly mood. As for the Indian, 
he told them he meant to spend the night at the 
old pueblo-ruins on the Butte, which he wanted 
to look at again. 

When Zeph heard this, he declared that he 
would like to do the same thing if they would 
give him a blanket and something to eat. The 
Indian had been too proud or too indifferent 
to mention this, but he grinned and grunted a 
“ Gratias ! ” when the provisions were handed out. 


210 


An Island in the Air 


“ Let’s hitch up in a hurry,” said Andy, “ and 
we will drive you ’round there on our way home, 
and then call for you to-morrow morning, for I 
feel sure we can find some way down from that 
shelf if we hunt hard enough.” 

So the two exiles were left by the little pond 
to pass the night together, while the others drove 
homeward. 

Although the mountain-tops northward were 
still rosy, and the yellow sunset light still fell like 
a sheen of gold upon the hills westward and upon 
the mesa itself, down in the river-valley dusk was 
already settling, and a dozen points of brightness 
were sparkling where the red raiders had kindled 
their camp-fires among the willows, and were gam- 
bling with marked sticks or repeating to one 
another stories of forays past or plans for atroci- 
ties to come. 

“ Wouldn’t it be terrible, Andy,” said Annie, in 
a low tone, as she sat beside him on the driver’s 
seat, “ if papa and mamma should come into that 
valley, and run right into that band of Navajos! ” 



SHOWS HOW THE ANCIENT CLIFF-DWELLERS HELPED 
MODERN ONES 

Zeph was particularly glad to see the Mannings 
next morning when they returned, taking him the 
best breakfast they could prepare ; and even old 
Whalpi, who appreciated highly at all times the 
good things he was given to eat, was by no means 
too dignified or stolid to express his satisfaction, 
especially to Annie. 

When one has been used to sleeping in a bed, — 
even one no better than spruce boughs and horse- 
blankets, — and having regular and plentiful meals, 
to lie all night upon the bare ground, and then 
wait a couple of hours after rising in the crisp, 


21 


212 


An Island in the Air 


blood-stirring air of the Rocky Mountains, seem 
much greater hardships than they come to be 
considered after some practice. 

“ I enjoyed it, though,” Zeph asserted stoutly. 
“ I know precious little of the Spanish lingo, but 
I’ve got the hang of the sign-language pretty well, 
and the old man and I did a heap o’ talking with 
our fingers. This morning, early, we wandered 
about these ruins by the rocks. Whalpi claims 
that there was once an immensely big house 
here, built ’round three sides of a square, and 
holding hundreds of rooms, or sets of rooms, in 
each of which a family lived. It was a pueblo , 
you know. In the centre was a courtyard pro- 
tected on the fourth side by a wall of stone and 
’dobe, with sentinels always at the gate, and up in 
the watch-tower on the Butte. The old medicine 
man took a stick and drew for me on the ground 
a right good picture of how the place used to 
look.” 

The lad was eating all this time and talking 
between mouthfuls. 

“As I said, he claims that there was once a 
big house here, built ’round three sides of a 
square. He says the outside was just a dead 
wall without any doors and only a few, if any, win- 
dows, and this wall reached, of course, clear to 
the top of the block. But inside the second 


213 


The Ancient Cliff-dwellers 

story was not so wide as the first story, and so 
on until the fifth was only the width of one 
house — mebbe twenty feet. In the centre of 
the pueblo was a courtyard, protected on the 
open side by a wall, where the various families 
had small granaries and conical ovens of ’dobe, 
and put up wooden stagings to hold their prop- 
erty and food out of reach of thieving dogs and 
children. 

“ According to Whalpi, the rooms on the ground 
floor had no outside doors at all, but the people 
used to climb up to the roof from the courtyard 
by a ladder and then go down by another into 
their rooms through a scuttle. This first roof 
was the front porch of the next tier of houses, and 
the folks that lived at the top of the pueblo had to 
climb four sets of ladders to reach home.” 

“ Regular tenement-house,” Cora interrupted. 

“Just the same; and I don’ know’s it’s much 
worse to go up ladders outside than up stairs 
inside. Mebbe those chaps weren’t so far behind 
as we think. And Whalpi discovered a mighty 
queer place — an underground meeting-house. He 
nosed round in all sorts of holes and corners, like 
Bimber after a chipmunk, before he found it. I 
couldn’t get any idea of what he was after till he 
found it, and then we had to do a lot of clearing 
to get at it. Come on, and I’ll show it to you, 


214 


An Island in the Air 


now that I have disposed of this grub, — and 
thank you, ma’am ! ” He smiled up at Cora. 

Turning to old Whalpi, who had been eating 
without paying much attention to the talk he 
could not understand, Zeph pointed to himself 
and the others, touched his eyes with two fingers, 
and pointed toward the ruins, at the same time 
pronouncing the word estufa . 

The Indian nodded, and a moment later rose 
and led the way to a barren terrace at the foot of 
the Butte, which was studded with half-overturned 
walls, grass-grown heaps of refuse, and innumer- 
able fragments of decorated pottery ; and here he 
pointed out, in the middle of the ancient court- 
yard, a squarish hole surrounded by a ruined 
curb. 

Peering down this hatchway, all were able to 
see that this subterranean chamber widened out 
like a big cistern, and that its floor was not very 
far below. When, therefore, Cora suggested that 
it would be interesting to explore it, Zeph and 
Carter searched about until they found a dead 
cedar which, after some trimming, would serve 
as a ladder, and then all went down. 

The place proved to be a dry and dusty cham- 
ber, partly hollowed out of the solid sandstone, 
and partly walled up (above the rock) with blocks 
of stone, well faced, neatly cemented together, and 


215 


The Ancient Cliff-dwellers 

covered for some ten feet above the floor with a 
dado, or wainscoting, of a kind of hard smooth 
plaster. The roof was of logs, covered with poles 
and earth, and supported on a few posts. 

So much was revealed by the daylight which 
streamed down through the hatchway ; but when 
Andy struck a match, all were astonished to see 
that the walls were covered with painted figures. 
Everybody wanted to see more of them, so the 
younger boys went out and gathered armfuls of 
dry cedar-branches and so forth, and built a 
bright fire. Then it was seen that all four sides 
were decorated with curious bars, circles, zigzags, 
and spirals, together with colored figures, some 
unmistakably intended for men, others for ani- 
mals, and many more that meant nothing at all 
to the boys. 

To the old Indian, however, they seemed to 
signify a great deal, and he became at once vastly 
excited, as he explained to Andy that these were 
not idle scribblings, nor simply barbaric decora- 
tions, but were pictured records made by the wise 
councillors of the ancient community, so long 
departed, who used to meet in this underground 
house, or kiva, as he called it (pronouncing it 
kee-va\ where the sacred fire was kept perpetually 
burning by the Priests of the Sun. It was for this 
reason that the early Spaniards gave to chambers 


216 


An Island in the Air 


like this, which they found in many of the pueblos 
they visited, the name estufo , or stove-room. This 
chamber, he said, also served the town as council- 
hall, conference-room, when a war or other public 
matter was under discussion, and between times 
as a sort of club-room or general lounging-place. 

The hieroglyphics were so old-fashioned, he 
added, that he did not understand them at first 
glance; but he could not think of leaving the 
place until he had endeavored to decipher them, 
since they might contain information of life-or- 
death value to his nation and himself. 

“ Go on, my friends,” he commanded. “ Search 
for the home-trail. I will stay and try to read 
these, and afterward I may follow you. The gods 
must have some great message to reveal to my 
people, since I have been brought so wonderfully, 
now in my old age, to learn of this forgotten 
pueblo and these paintings. I will get more light 
and study them.” 



CHAPTER XXIX 

TELLS HOW BIMBER FOUND A WAY 

Leaving the priestly antiquary absorbed in 
his task, the boys and girls drove back to the 
ravine, and unhitching and hobbling the mules so 
that they would not stray too far — though there 
was little danger of that — the party hurried down 
to where they had quit exploration on the pre- 
ceding day. Of course Bimber and Nig came 
along; and although they stopped to growl and 
scratch about the fox’s den, they caught up with 
the party by the time they had reached the great 
ledge where the pine tree was to be taken as the 
next step. Here the boys proposed to leave the 
girls. In fact, they had objected to their sisters 
217 


2l8 


An Island in the Air 


coming with them at all, but quite without avail ; 
and now again they were obliged to cut away 
branches and help the young ladies down that 
tree, Cora declaring, and Annie standing by her 
determinedly, that they would go down by them- 
selves if the boys left them behind. 

“We are tired of staying alone in spooky 
places,” they said. 

Down they all scrambled, therefore, and the 
girls managed it with less help than their 
brothers expected — all, that is, except the dogs. 
The light and agile little terrier might perhaps 
have been handed down the tree from one to the 
other, but to have got the heavy setter down 
would have been too troublesome and risky a 
task, since there was no real necessity of it ; and 
to have taken them up again would have been all 
but impossible. 

But how those dogs did rage and plead when 
they found themselves abandoned ! Nig’s solemn 
black head and Bimber’s bright little face were to 
be seen, close together, peering over the brink, 
each filled with anxiety and alarm and grief. 
When they saw they were noticed, they began to 
talk. They barked and howled and whined and 
sang. One minute they were crying with rage 
and terror, telling their masters and mistresses 
what a shame such treatment was, and the next 


219 


How Bimber Found a Way 

were pleading and whining with affectionate 
humility. They asked forgiveness for all the 
times they had been cross or disobedient or lazy, 
and begged each and all to forget it and take 
them along. They howled their grief in an agony 
of repentance, and vowed real reformation if only 
the dreadful punishment might be remitted and 
they need not stay behind in this dreadful place. 
Bimber swore by all his doggish saints that he 
would jump down, and Cora was in terror lest he 
really would ; and her stern commands to him 
only increased his agony and noise. 

“ If only we could make him understand that it 
is only for a little while — that pretty soon we 
shall come back ! ” 

She stayed and watched him while the others 
went on, until at last he and Nig both gave up 
their struggle and disappeared. Then the girl 
hastened after her companions. 

Once on this lower ledge the party had little 
difficulty in scrambling by devious zigzaggings 
and slidings down to other projecting strata below, 
until at last they found themselves within perhaps 
a hundred feet of the top of the slope, or talus, as 
geologists term it, at the bottom of the cliff. This 
talus was the slope of broken stone and earth, 
thinly overgrown with sage-brush and cactus, 
which had been formed at their base by the frag- 


220 


An Island in the Air 


ments which day by day fell from the crags. 
Such a deposit is found everywhere that cliffs 
exist. 

What causes this incessant rain of falling stones, 
which in the course of time will build up a slop- 
ing bank as high as the front of the cliff itself, 
and so destroy the cliff-face altogether, and turn 
a scarp-fronted table-land into a flat-topped hill 
with sides sloping as steeply as the loose material 
will lie, until they are further changed by the 
action of running water ? The answer is ready. 

In cold regions, as in northern latitudes or 
near the summits of lofty mountains, frost is the 
main agent. Water gets behind loose flakes, or 
sinks into cracks and crevices. Then comes a 
freeze, the water turns to ice, and in doing so 
expands, as everybody knows, and bursts off the 
small pieces (sometimes very large ones), or at 
least strains their fastening so that after a while 
a break occurs. Of course this process goes on 
much more rapidly where the rocks are porous, 
loose, and brittle than among the solid, tough 
granites and trachytes of which many of the 
Rocky Mountains are composed. 

In the case of these mesas, composed of level 
beds of sandstone, they are too far south to be 
much exposed to frost, and the decay is slow, and 
is accomplished mainly by the alternate expan- 


221 


How Bimber Found a W 'ay 

sion and contraction of the rocks in the face of 
the ledges. These swell under the fierce heat of 
the long summer days, and then shrink sharply 
in the chill of the cold dry nights. This gives 
a daily repeated wrench to all their particles near 
the surface, and finally they break apart along 
some line of weakness and fall, or simply crumble 
and blow away as dust. 

Another thing helps. The strong winds which 
blow almost incessantly in that country, as is 
always the case where plains abut upon high 
mountains, carry with them much fine, sharp sand, 
and so act as rasps, incessantly filing down the 
rocks against which they blow, and sweeping away 
every loosened particle. Hence the noticeable 
fact that all exposed points and ledges are rounded. 
This continuous sand-blast of course works more 
rapidly on the soft strata in the face of a cliff than 
on the harder layers, and so steadily cuts away the 
support underneath a hard stratum, until from 
time to time its weight causes great pieces of 
overhanging shelf to break off and tumble down. 

In these ways the cliffs are retreating day by 
day, and the talus-slopes in front of them grow 
higher and thicker. 

This last ledge to which the party had now 
come was one of the hard, overhanging strata 


222 


An Island in the Air 


just spoken of, which formed a projecting shelf, 
as broad as a city street in some places, and 
roofed over like a gallery by other rocks, but in 
other places narrow and unsheltered. At inter- 
vals along it the explorers came upon hewn stones, 
broken pottery, hearths where fires had been 
built, and rude walls erected in the form of a 
parapet along the brink, as if to keep the inhabit- 
ants from falling off. Zeph was right when he 
remarked that it would be a poor place to raise 
a family of children, and grinned when Annie 
agreed, but added that it would be a good place 
to drop them. 

At the farther end of the shelf, to their right, 
or eastward, stood a long row of stone houses, 
many in good repair, beyond which the ledge 
curved outward and ended in a sheer buttress of 
rock, where not even a goat could find a foothold, 
— much less pass on around to whatever lay be- 
yond. They could go no farther. 

Overcome with disappointment, heat, and weari- 
ness, all sat down and gazed silently out into the 
thin, blue air and down through it to the yellow 
valley upon which they seemed likely never to 
set foot. 

“To think of all this work for nothing ! ” Andy 
exclaimed. 

“ And of that dreadful climb back to the top,” 


How Bimber Found a Way 223 

sighed Annie, to whom indeed it would be a 
fearful task. 

It was on the tip of Carter’s tongue to say that 
it was her own fault, — she needn’t have come ; 
but instead he leaned over and laid his face on his 
sister’s knee and let her stroke his hair. He was 
very tired, and very discouraged, and, after all, he 
was only a little boy. 

Every one wanted to rest, and no one had the 
heart to propose a move ; and so they sat quietly, 
each thinking his own thoughts for many minutes. 
But they could not wait there forever ; and Cora 
was just summoning resolution enough to get upon 
her feet and say “ Come ! ” when she was nearly 
knocked over by a small black and white animal, 
and Bimber was devouring her face with kisses 
and whimpering with delight ! 

And Nig was there, too. 

“ How in the world did the dogs get here ? 
(There, Bim, be still — you’ve kissed me enough, 
doggie. I’ll never leave you so again !) Is it 
possible they jumped ?” 

“ Surely not,” said Andy. “ Neither is the least 
hurt.” 

“ I don’t believe they came down that tree,” 
exclaimed Annie, with a large sense of her own 
troubles. 


224 


An Island in the Air 


“ They must have found some pathway down 
that we missed,” declared Zeph. “ Come on, Cora, 
let’s see if Bimber won’t show us how he did it.” 

Zeph and Cora ran back along the ledge, Bim- 
ber leaping about their legs as if wild with joy. 
When they got to the place where they had slid 
down from the ledges above, he paid no attention 
to it, but rushed ahead through some bushes and 
rocks that concealed the narrow extreme western 
end of the ledge, and disappeared. In a moment 
he darted back, to see whether they were following, 
and then shot off again ; and so he led them 
along to where he turned into what seemed a 
shallow rift, up which he darted out of sight. 

“ That's the way ! ” cried Zeph, and ran back to 
call the others. “ The question is,” he explained, 
as he brought them up, “whether we can go 
where the dogs did.” 

“ Can’t tell till we try,” said Andy, and squeezed 
into the entrance of the rift, which had been partly 
choked by a large stone falling from above. This 
passed, the party found themselves inside a lofty, 
irregular crevice, from six to ten feet wide, with a 
sloping floor leading steeply upward, which they 
climbed in Indian file. Sometimes it was rough 
and difficult, but generally as easy to travel as any 
steep and badly made stairway would be. Indeed, 
they soon began to understand that this really 


225 


How Bimber Found a Way 

was a stairway where steps had been hewn in the 
floor of a natural crack in the rock — probably 
the path of some long extinct watercourse, which 
had sawed it out. Thus had been formed an 
easy and well-hidden means of passage between 
the little village or military outpost on the curving 
ledge and the great town on top of the mesa. 

Its upper opening, letting them out upon the 
ledge at the foot of the ravine above the top of the 
pine, had been so cluttered up with rocks and 
screened by bushes and grass that no one had 
suspected the possibility of a passageway; but 
the eager dogs, nosing about in their determi- 
nation to find their masters, had crawled through. 
Here it was needful to work awhile at putting 
aside the obstructions before the climbers could 
creep out ; but a thoroughfare was soon cleared, 
and the remainder of the road up the ravine was 
familiar and easy. 

Thus, scarcely an hour from the time of Bim- 
ber’s joyful leap into Cora’s discouraged arms, all 
stood once more upon the surface, and the feat 
had been far from “fearful,” although everybody 
was out of breath and extremely tired. 

“ I don’t believe my feet ever will get rested,” 
Annie groaned as she tumbled rather than lay 
down on the grass. “And look at my shoes. 
They won’t last another week at this rate ; and I 


Q 


226 


An Island in the Air 


shall have to go barefooted, or make a pair of 
moccasins. If I had had to climb that awful tree, 
I guess it would have torn them off my feet.” 

Hitching up the mules, which, thinking it about 
time, had gathered near the ambulance expect- 
antly, they drove away in search of old Whalpi, 
curious to learn the result of his mysterious 
studies, and eager to let him know their dis- 
covery. They found the old fellow too absorbed 
in his translation of the antique wall-paintings to 
pay much attention to what they had to say; and 
although, after much urging, he consented to 
return to camp with his young friends, he was so 
preoccupied and moody that they knew he must 
have been profoundly impressed by what he had 
been studying. 

Andy questioned him, but could get only vague 
replies, to the effect that he had learned little yet, 
for the style of the picture-writings was so old- 
fashioned that he could decipher them only 
slowly. 

The next day was a Sunday, and all thought it 
best — except the fanatical old Indian, who went 
on with his researches — to devote it to much- 
needed rest and repairs. 



CHAPTER XXX 

TELLS HOW AN ENERGETIC YOUNG LADY ANSWERED 
THE QUESTION “ WHAT NEXT ? ” 

“What next?” 

This was the momentous question that could 
no longer be avoided, and to which all sought an 
answer as they gathered in serious mood around 
the Sunday evening camp-fire. 

“ It is plain,” Andy declared, in his habit of see- 
ing first the dark side of every proposition, “ that 
all of us have given up hope of escape through 
that big ravine — or, at any rate, from the ledge 
at the bottom of it. We can get down that 
far, of course, but how are we going to take the 
animals, or our things, and without them in this 


228 An Island in the Air 

wild country we might as well stay where we 
are.” 

“ Don’t count me in that list,” Cora snapped 
out resolutely, and stirred the fire into a fresh 
blaze. “ I don’t call myself beaten yet . Perhaps 
we couldn’t make a rope ladder long enough and 
strong enough to reach to the ground from that 
ledge ; and maybe it is true that we wouldn’t 
dare to go down it if we had one, — I’d hate to 
try it, for one, — but all the same I can’t help 
thinking there’s some way out at that very place.” 

“ Why, you could see that it was just sheer 
precipice below those houses,” she was reminded. 

“ I know it looks so. But remember how we 
missed the stairway till Bimber found it for us. 
I think if / had been with you boys last Friday, I 
would have poked my nose into every hole and 
corner till I was sure there wasn’t a place a 
mouse could crawl through. It was just your 
ridiculous desire to have the fun of scrambling 
down that pine tree that blinded you to the proper 
way ! ” 

There was a murmur of objection to this vig- 
orous view of the boys’ work, but Cora went on, 
striking a new tack, and punching the fire till 
the sparks flew high, as though she would enjoy 
punching somebody’s head in the same way. 

“ More than that,” said she ; “ why should any- 


229 


The Question “What Next ?” 

body make such a careful stairway unless it led 
clear down to the valley ? You may be sure they 
wouldn’t take all that trouble just for the sake of 
the few people living on the ledge. No sirree! 
There is, or used to be, some sort of a trail or 
staircase leading on down into the valley ; and if 
Andy will go with me to-morrow, I’ll do my best 
to prove it. Why, we haven’t half explored that 
line of ruins ! Will you go ? ” 

“ Go ? Of course I will ! ” 

“Just you and I. There’s no use of the others 
making the climb.” 

“ No. We’ll go alone. If you fail, Cote, I 
won’t say a word — wild horses shall not draw the 
confession from me ; and if you succeed, I’ll see 
that you get some of the credit and glory.” 

“ Thank you — for nothing.” 

Cora was too deeply stirred to relish any levity. 

The sun was pouring broadsides of heat and 
light upon the southward battlements of the 
mesa when on that next Monday morning Cora 
and her brother, having left their saddle-horses 
tied at the head of the ravine, crept out of the 
cool, shady rift, and stood again upon that lower- 
most, gallery-like ledge jutting from the face of 
the cliff. 

The place was like a furnace. They could 


230 An Island in the Air 

hardly open their eyes because of the yellow 
glare and the shimmering waves of heated at- 
mosphere that quivered over the surface of the 
baking rocks and made the distant landscape 
seem like a picture drawn on watered silk. For 
unnumbered centuries had the pitiless ruler of 
the heavens filled these valleys with heat and 
parched the uplands ; and it is no wonder that 
the ancient villagers and farmers worshipped 
him with a sense of terror — as of a power to 
be appeased, and regarded as sacred gifts the 
fountains that sprang up so sparsely in their sun- 
smitten land. It was perfectly natural to think 
of them as favors shown from on high as long as 
the acts of the people pleased the Almighty Giver; 
and what penalty of divine wrath could be more 
natural or greater than to stop their flowing? 
Hence the springs were places of respectful obei- 
sance to the Lord ; and here more than elsewhere 
the devout made their votive offerings, and prayed 
especially to the rain-gods to send their clouds 
as a shield over the people from the scorching 
wrath of this mighty Sun, who threatened daily 
to consume the land. 

Such recollections and fancies were but natural 
suggestions to the minds of our adventurers as 
they stepped out of the cool and shady passage 
into the fierce sunshine; but their eyes quickly 


The Qiiestion “What Next?” 


231 


accustomed themselves to the strong light, and 
they began at once the new examination, laying 
aside the ropes, miner’s pick, and hatchet, which 
had been brought as aids in case of necessity, 
and stepping briskly along toward the abandoned 
dwellings of a people who had run their race so 
long ago, while the sun and the rain and the 
springs still did their work. 

Small green and copper-colored lizards held up 
their heads an instant to watch them, and then 
scampered away; and a company of swallows, 
which had crowded their bottle-shaped nests of 
mud into a modern bird-pueblo on one of the old 
buildings, swirled about their heads and twittered 
a frightened protest against the intrusion. 

The first two or three houses had been looked 
into before, and were quickly passed ; after which 
the explorers began to enter and examine carefully 
many more or less ruinous structures quite new 
to them, for haste and their eagerness on the pre- 
vious visit had led them to neglect this careful 
search. Sometimes it was easy to walk right 
over, or through a building, but usually the walls 
and partitions were firm and often well plastered, 
and in many cases the beams of the roof or upper 
floor were still in place. The stones were set in 
a mortar made of mud mixed with ashes ; and the 
prolonged resistance to decay — perhaps through 


232 An Island in the Air 

a thousand years — was due to the walls being 
sheltered from wind and thunder-storms, and to 
the extreme dryness of the climate. In one house 
grew a scrub-oak ten inches in diameter, whose 
outward leaning had thrown down the wall. 

A passage, or street, always ran around these 
houses, sometimes in front of them and some- 
times behind, so that the two walked along 
easily, finding nothing novel or of service to 
them until they came almost to the end of the 
ledge, where, as already described, a great buttress 
terminated the platform. Here a mass of bushes 
half hid the last building, which, when they had 
forced their way into the rubbish, proved to be 
only a sort of archway, leading into an uncovered 
space ; and here was something new, for they saw 
with surprise that the old citizens, knowing (as 
our friends could not) that the buttress was only 
a few yards thick, and that the rock was soft, had 
hewn a small tunnel leading from this hallway to 
a farther ledge on the same level, where many 
more houses had once been inhabited by these 
human wrens and swallows. 

Inspired by this discovery, Cora sped eagerly on, 
peering in every hole and cranny, while Andy 
followed more slowly, spending five minutes or 
so in one place to pick up the fragments of a 
broken jar which he hoped he might glue to- 


233 


The Question “What Next?" 

gether, and so preserve as a whole example of the 
ancient ornamented pottery. Going on, he called 
to his sister, but got no answer. A louder shout 
proved no more effective. Then he hastily 
searched through the ruins ahead, but could find 
her in none of them. The ledge grew narrow 
and came to an end after a short distance, and no 
tunnel went any farther — that was plain. 

Could she have slipped off? 

The thought chilled his heart, yet he felt sure 
if that had happened he would have heard a cry 
— a shriek. He crept to the edge and looked 
over. 

Ledge after ledge dropped brokenly down to 
the summit of the talus, not so abruptly as under- 
neath the other platform, but too steeply, at first, 
at least, to be reached from where he knelt. He 
could scan the whole space at a glance, and would 
surely have seen her body had she fallen. 

He ran back through the tunnel to learn if she 
had slipped by him while he was picking up the 
broken jar, but she was not there. Greatly 
frightened, he rushed back, and again shouted as 
loudly as he could, so that the rocks echoed 
his voice far and wide. A hawk screamed back 
at him from the cliffs ; a flock of cranes rose with 
a rattling response from the swampy riverside in 
the valley ; but that was all. He was nonplussed, 


An Island in the Air 


234 

and stood chilled with doubt and fear, when right 
at his elbow came a rush of footsteps, and Cora’s 
voice ringing with gladness. 

“Oh, Andy, I’ve found it! I’ve actually been 
down to the bottom ! ” 

He was too astounded to utter a word either of 
joy or reproach, but only stared at her eager face. 

“ Come, and I’ll show you ! ” she rattled on, and 
seizing his hand led him with rapid footsteps into 
one of the vacant houses, notable among the rest 
for its broad doorway. In its rear wall another 
large doorway apparently led into a dark inner 
chamber, as in several other buildings, but in reality 
opened into a passage in the rock which bent 
sharply to the left and sloped downward, dimly 
lighted from below. 

Cora clattered down it, and Andy following 
closely, with the feeling that rough steps were 
under his feet, soon found himself out upon the 
next lower ledge. 

From that point the descent was comparatively 
easy, for regular steps, still pretty well preserved, 
had been carved by the long-forgotten colonists, 
and a good trail, though probably invisible from 
below, zigzagged from ledge to ledge and led 
them out to the top of the bushy slope, whence 
they could easily have run down into the 
valley. 


The Question “What Next?” 235 

Why did they not do so — just for the glory 
and gratification of it ? 

Because a little cloud of dust was visible far 
down the valley ; and in it, cantering toward them, 
were the prancing horses and gayly colored 
blankets and plumes of a band of wild nomads — 
the Badaween of the Southwest, the Navajos once 
more. 


4 



DIVULGES AN AWFUL REVELATION FROM THE 
RAIN-GODS 

Clouds lay thick upon the mountains northward 
when the two returned to the surface and began 
their ride homeward. The sun was near its 
setting, for Andy had halted frequently as they 
came up to take measurements of the height and 
breadth of the various stairways and passages, and 
to study the possibility of clearing or widening to 
a more convenient size the place where the rift 
was obstructed by the fallen big stone, or in other 
ways. They watched with delight, as they can- 
tered across the prairie, the magnificence of the 
sight as the lightning played through the dark 

236 


An Awful Revelation from the Rain- gods 237 

masses of vapors half hiding the summits, and 
listened without fear to the distant thunder 
echoed along the vault of the sky. 

The storm was evidently widening, but fortu- 
nately held off until they had got quite to camp, 
when sudden gusts of wind came driving the rain 
before them, and all hands fled to the wagon. 
The first violence of the downpour was expended 
in half an hour or so, however, so that, although 
the rain continued, they were able to get supper, 
and ate it, sitting in the tent or under the wagon, 
with little inconvenience. 

“ I wonder how our old friend up among the 
rocks stands it,” Annie remarked. 

“ Oh, he’s all right,” Zeph answered. “ He’d 
stay down in the estufa as snug as a prairie-dog 
in his hole.” 

“ Nibbling the hind leg of another prairie-dog 
to pass the time away,” Carter added. 

You see these youngsters were more cheerful 
than they had been the day before, and Cora was 
the heroine of the hour. Her sister would go and 
hug her now and then, as if she hadn’t done the 
same ten minutes before, just to show how glad 
she felt. Annie was a gentle, home-loving little 
body, and hadn’t the slightest desire in the world 
to do brave deeds or to meet with adventures. 
She begrudged every hour that kept her away from 


238 


An Island in the Air 


her mother’s loving companionship and her father’s 
smile, and no one was more thankfully happy in 
the prospect of release than she. Thus supper 
was cooked and eaten with jollity, in spite of the 
rain. 

Nevertheless, the question What next? had 
only been put a step forward: it had not been 
answered. 

Granted that they now knew how they could 
get themselves, and what little they could carry 
on their backs, all the way down from the mesa- 
top to the valley land, how much better off would 
they be when they had got there ? What should 
they do then ? Where should they go ? They 
were without knowledge of a road — probably 
there was none ; or nothing but obscure Indian 
trails, and these the paths of hostile Indians. 
They might, perhaps, by great exertion, skirt 
around the foot of the mesa and climb up through 
one of the side-canyons to the wagon-road on the 
mountains by which they had come, and retrace 
it; but when they remembered the distance, the 
rough region to be traversed, and the scarcity of 
water, they shuddered at the idea of tramping it 
alone. 

They knew, of course, the general direction, 
southeastward, in which friendly settlements lay, 
and had a fair idea of the distance ; but between 


An Awful Revelation from the Rain-gods 239 

the start and the finish of the journey lay what 
impossible canyons, what rugged hills, what 
arid plains and savage foes ? How could they 
carry provisions and water, while they wandered 
about in search of right trails? To attempt to 
go away on foot in any direction seemed madness ; 
yet how could they get the horses and wagon 
down, so as to be able to drive or ride ? Zeph 
even went so far as to assert that they had better 
stay where they were until Mr. Manning came to 
rescue them, as he was sure to do sooner or later ; 
but both Andy and Cora strongly objected to 
this view. 

“ We don’t know anything about father or 
whether he is able to come to us, — or even 
whether he is alive,” he added after a pause. 
“ The great storm that overtook us and cut that 
chasm may — No, Annie, I don’t believe it! I 
think they were in a safe place and were not 
harmed — I really do ; but what I want to say is, 
that it won’t do to wait in the expectation of some- 
body coming to help us. Our provisions won’t 
last long and the game here amounts to only a 
small herd and would soon be killed off.” 

“ Then we’ve got to get the horses and wagon 
down into the valley,” Cora declared resolutely. 

“ Jiminy ! ” shouted Carter, “ won’t there be fun 
sending the mules down those long cellar-stairs ! ” 


240 


An Island in the Air 


This was a picture ! And it broke the meeting 
up in a burst of hearty laughter that dissipated the 
gloomy forebodings. Nevertheless, the facts re- 
mained ! 

One thing was certain. If they went away at 
all, they must take a part, at least, of their prop- 
erty with them ; and the first thing necessary was 
to devise some means of doing so. 

Suddenly old Whalpi appeared, but his accus- 
tomed smile was gone, and paying little attention 
to their salutations, he ate in silence the remains 
of their supper which Annie quickly placed before 
him. This done, he sought and plucked a dried 
sunflower leaf, and taking from his pouch some 
pinches of tobacco mixed with shredded bark, he 
rolled a large cigarette, and sitting down by the 
fire began to smoke, taciturn and moody. 

“ Have you read all the pictures ? ” Cora asked 
him, Andy, of course, translating question and 
answer. 

“ Yes, — all." 

“ Do they tell the history of the people who 
built the pueblo? Were they your old people? " 

“ Yes, they were the forefathers of the Mokis, 
who lived here many, many, many generations 
ago, when the gods used to come down to earth 
and talk with men, and the prairies were green, 
and all men and women were happy as children. 


An Awful Revelation from the Rain- gods 241 

Ah, that was long, long in the past, when the 
whole country was green.” 

“ Do the gods never come now ? ” 

“ No, never nowadays. I have often tried to 
learn why, but never could get an answer till I 
read these pictures left by the old people. They 
tell me that a stranger came from some far-off 
country, — I do not know where, — a giant, a noble 
warrior. The people made him chief and did 
what he said when he bade them forget the sun- 
gods and the rain-gods and the gods of the planting 
and of the corn-harvest ; and they were wicked 
and listened to him, even when they saw that 
their ancient deities were offended and would 
come no more to visit their chosen people. 

“ Then the stranger went away, and the Mokis 
became sorry for their faithlessness and begged 
the gods to return. They held a feast and danced 
all day in the kiva, and when at last all the others 
went away to sleep, one old servant of the sacred 
fire, like me, stayed behind alone ; and with him 
the gods came in the night and talked, bidding 
him write these pictures on the wall.” 

The whole company was listening with vivid 
interest as this weird tale proceeded. 

“ And you” Andy exclaimed, “ have read the 
very things he wrote ? ” 

“ Yes. The gods revealed to him that the 

R 


242 


An Island in the Air 


springs on all these northern mesas would quickly 
dry up, except only this one here, which should 
continue to flow as a reminder of what the people 
had lost; that all this country,” — and he waved 
both hands apart to show he meant a wide area, 
east and west and south, — “then so green and 
beautiful, should become dry and good for nothing 
to live upon. They told the priest that the peo- 
ple would be driven by famine and tempests, and 
by the northern savages, away to the dreary rocks 
toward Tusayan — alas! it has all come true.” 

“ Is that all ? ” Andy asked presently in his 
most kindly tone, when the Indian seemed dis- 
posed to say no more, leaving the wonderful tale 
half told. 

“ No, there is more. The picture-writings say 
that the divine messengers of the Sun promised 
that the gods would be long-suffering and patient 
with the few chosen Mokis left ; but that if these 
forsook the old ways, and allowed themselves 
again to be led into forbidden paths by strangers, 
then the rain-gods would desert them altogether, 
their enemies would increase, the springs every- 
where would be dried up, and all the tribe would 
perish. 

“ The last of the paintings is the greatest to me. 
It shows me that the noble priest could not bear 
to give his beloved people this awful message, but 


An Awful Revelation from the Rain-gods 243 

leaving it inscribed upon the wall for their instruc- 
tion, he lay down and at sunrise yielded up his 
soul to the Sun — the Great Father. I under- 
stand his heart.” 

“To-morrow,” the old man resumed, after a 
solemn pause, met with sympathetic and half- 
fearful silence, “ to-morrow I will hasten away 
and tell my stricken nation of its peril. I will 
warn and beg the foolish young people to spurn 
the new manners and ruinous teachings of the 
white people. I will not say your ways are not 
good for you, but they are bad for us. I will en- 
treat the young men to return to the righteous 
customs of the forefathers, and perhaps I may thus 
turn my nation from its sins and its ruin before 
it is too late. But I fear it is too late now — too 
late — too late ! ” 

“ But, Whalpi,” said Andy, earnestly, after a 
little, and forgetting that nothing yet had been 
said to him of their discovery, “ we, too, are going 
away. We have found a trail down the cliffs — 
an ancient road of your own old people.” 

“ I know it,” the Indian replied laconically, 
offering no explanation to satisfy their curiosity 
as to how he had learned this fact. 

“It will be very hard work to get our goods 
down to the valley alone. We need your help. 
Can you not wait until we are ready ? ” 


244 


An Island in the Air 


The Indian sat and smoked in gloomy silence 
for a long time. The river gurgled under the 
murmuring trees, the cedar boughs crackled in 
the fire and threw out their aromatic perfume, 
broken clouds scudded across the sky, now blot- 
ting out and now revealing the stars, and far out 
upon the gusty uplands the long-drawn, sighing 
wail of a coyote came like the cry of the spirit of 
the dead picture-writer, as the young people 
waited for the Indian’s reply : — 

“ You have been good to me. I will stay.” 

A moment afterward, with the courteous 
“ Buenas noches ” — Good night ! — which he 
never omitted, the old fellow stalked off to his 
hut. 

“ Well,” said Zeph, as later they were about 
to break the circle and seek their beds, “ we may 
find a worse place than this pleasant valley. Bar- 
ring our anxieties, we’ve not had a bad month on 
this old mesa, and I, for one, can stand it awhile 
longer if I’m ’bleeged to.” 

“ I believe you’re sorry you’re going to be res- 
cued,” laughed Cora. 

“ Well, I’m like a girl who is dead set on get- 
tin’ married, but likes the courtin’ so well she 
ain’t in no hurry to ‘ name the day ’ ! ” 



HAS MUCH TO DO WITH FIRE 

Now that a way of escape was open, no time 
was to be lost. Soon after sunrise next morning 
all were busy and enthusiastic in hopeful prepara- 
tions. The upshot of the evening’s planning had 
been a decision that, if possible, the horses, mules, 
and wagon were to be taken down ; and Andy’s 
measurements made him confident that it could 
be done, at any rate so far as the animals were 
concerned, provided certain obstacles could be got 
out of the way. 

Another smart shower had fallen during the 
night, and clouds still glowered about the moun- 
tains, but the air here was cool and breezy, and 
245 


246 


An Island in the Air 


everybody enjoyed the four-mile drive over the 
plateau to the head of the ravine. Andy, how- 
ever, rode Jim, and circling about found a band 
of antelope and killed one, providing meat for the 
next two or three days. They had wisely dis- 
turbed the game very little, and so shooting it 
was easy. 

The team was now unharnessed and turned 
loose with hobbles on their fore feet, and the 
party descended the gulch, taking with them the 
pickaxe, shovel, axe, and cold-chisel, which, with 
some other tools, formed a part of the outfit of 
every emigrant-wagon. 

“ Zeph,” ordered Andy, as they started, “you 
and Carter and the girls begin at the top here and 
clear away a sort of path. 

“ All you need to do, I think, is to chop down a 
few bushes and shove loose stones one side, here 
and there, so that the animals won’t stumble over 
them. Pick out the best road and make it as 
easy as you can for them.” 

Zeph threw off his coat to begin work at the top, 
and Andy and the Indian walked on down to the 
lower end of the rift. When they came to the 
wedged-in rock which obstructed its mouth, they 
heaped up a pile of stones to stand upon, and 
Andy began with his cold-chisel and hammer to 
drill a hole into the middle of the block. The 


Much to do with Fire 247 

Indian watched him attentively, and after a while 
took his turn at the novel task. In a couple of 
hours or more the youngsters were heard rattling 
down the rift, the dogs prancing ahead and help- 
ing them proclaim that luncheon-time had come. 
The luncheon had been brought along, and Annie 
opened the package and spread it on a flat rock. 
Zeph reported, as they gnawed their cold deer- 
roast and pilot-bread, and drank gratefully from 
the water-bottles, that his “ gang ” had made a 
very decent road (decent, that is, for a mountain 
mule) down almost to the head of the rift, except 
in one place where it would be needful to use the 
pick and shovel an hour or so to enable the ani- 
mals to descend an abrupt pitch. 

“ All right,” said Andy, “we’ll attend to that as 
soon as we get through here.” 

“ What are you up to, anyhow ? ” Cora asked. 

“We are going to blast away this rock. It’s 
nothing but sandstone, and won’t require much 
force.” 

“ You will have to make a deep hole, won’t 
you ? ” 

“Yes, and that’s what’s bothering me. I’ve 
got to have a longer handle to the chisel, and I 
don’t see how it is going to be put on.” 

The cold-chisel was simply a hardened and 
sharpened round steel bar about fourteen inches 


248 


An Island in the Air 


long, with no socket in the head for a wooden 
handle, as has a carpenter’s chisel. 

“Strange I didn’t think of that before,” said 
Andy. 

“ I don’t see how you can possibly fix a wooden 
handle on,” said Zeph. “ There’s no room to 
bind it. It would need a sort of collar or tube of 
steel, shrunk on, to hold it, and we haven’t such 
a thing.” 

Everybody studied the case, but had no sugges- 
tion to offer. Whalpi was told of the difficulty, 
but could give no help, — this was out of his line. 
Finally Zeph suggested a method. 

“ I think,” he said, “ we could get a strong iron 
rod out of the brake of the wagon, and perhaps 
we could weld it on to the head of the chisel. 
Do you think it could be done ? ” 

“ I am sure it could not” Andy answered ; “ at 
least not in an open fire. It would be impossible 
to heat that hard steel to softness without a regu- 
lar forge and bellows ; and then we should have 
to re-temper it. Besides, I should hate to risk 
destroying the brake in this rough country.” 

A moment later Annie spoke : — 

“ Supposing you put powder in the hole you 
have already made, and fired it off — wouldn’t 
that break the rock ? ” 

“Not much. It might split off a piece.” 


Much to do with Fire 249 

“ Let’s try it. If it broke off a pretty big piece, 
you could make another hole and break it again.” 

“ That would be slow work.” 

“ It seems to me worth trying,” the girl per- 
sisted. “ I don’t see what else you can do.” 

The suggestion was seconded by Zeph, and 
they decided to try the experiment. The hole 
was half filled with powder, a fuse of string rolled 
in damp powder was laid, the upper part of the 
hole tamped with rock dust, and in half an hour 
the thing was ready. Then Zeph took from his 
pocket the flint-and-steel box, which he always 
carried, and which had been the means of saving 
their precious matches many a time, and started 
a little fire — enough to get a blazing twig. 

Whalpi had watched these proceedings with 
great interest, and understood well what was on 
foot. Now he insisted upon being the one to 
light the fuse. 

“ I am old,” he said, “ and my young brother 
ought not to go into danger. If I am hurt, it 
does not matter — I am near the end, anyhow.” 

So every one else retreated to a safe distance ; 
the Indian touched the fuse with his little torch 
and scrambled hastily after them. A few seconds 
later a dull report rumbled up and down the nar- 
row canyon, and when the smoke and dust had 
cleared away, they returned to find that perhaps 


250 


An Island in the Air 


a fifth of the block had been blown off, and a 
deep crack had been made in the remainder. 

Then, while two spelled one another at drill- 
ing another hole, the remainder worked at cut- 
ting down and building up to form a path at 
the difficult place Zeph had mentioned. So the 
afternoon passed, but by the time a second hole 
had been made in the rock, as deep as the length 
of the cold-chisel allowed, the shadows told them 
it was time to quit ; and leaving the work for the 
day they went back to camp, very tired, hungry, 
and thirsty, and none the happier because a wrench 
given to one of the wheels had made driving the 
last half mile a very unsafe proceeding. 

The instant camp was reached Cora hurried 
to revive the embers she had carefully buried in 
ashes, and so get something cooking; but the 
coals were black and dead. Her brothers had 
laughingly called her (since Whalpi arrived) the 
Priestess of the Sacred Fire, on account of her 
great care to keep its embers alive over night, so 
as not to use matches in rekindling. Matches 
were not as common nor as cheap and good in 
those days as they are now, and the fiint-and-tinder 
method was slow and troublesome. Now, when 
she most needed it, the damp weather and wood 
of the past few days, or her insufficient care, had 
caused a failure, and she felt very badly. 


Much to do with Fire 


251 


“ Anybody got a match ? ” she called out. 

“Yep,” Carter answered, and fumbling in his 
pockets at last found one, which he hastily drew, 
boylike, along the leg of his trousers. 

“ Plague on it,” he exclaimed angrily. “ The 
dad-blasted thing broke ! ” 

Cora simply looked at him. He hunted high 
and low, but could find no other. Andy searched 
his clothing and his trunk, but none appeared. 
Annie almost tearfully confessed that a few she 
had had two days ago had got wet in the rain 
and were ruined. Just then Zeph and the Indian 
came in from looking after the stock, and the 
former was hailed with a request for his flint and 
steel. 

He felt in one pocket after another, and a 
blank look spread over his freckled face, which 
would have made the others laugh had not they 
been too tired and hungry to see anything funny 
in the situation. 

“ Hang it all ! I’ve left it in the rift, where we 
lit that little fire.” 

Whalpi looked on greatly mystified by the sud- 
den silence and the look of horror in every face. 

“ What is the trouble ? ” he asked with sympa- 
thetic interest. 

Andy explained their predicament. 

“ Oh ! ” he exclaimed, and his wrinkled old 


252 An Island in the Air 

face lightened. “ Don’t let my children be cast 
down. I’ll make fire for you as quick as a blue- 
jay could fly across the valley.” 

He trotted off to his hut, where his wallet was 
lying, and returned, unwinding as he ran a little 
bundle of cords and sticks. One was a flat piece 
of soft wood about an inch wide and a foot long, 
full of shallow pits on its upper side, each with a 
notch from the pit to the edge of the slat. An- 
other was a round rod, twice as long and thick as 
a lead pencil. A third was a miniature bow; and 
a fourth a small saddle-shaped block, with a hole 
on its under side. He went to an old stump near 
by, and brought a handful of the powdery dead 
wood from beneath its rotten bark. Then he laid 
the flat, pitted piece on the ground and placed the 
powdered punk in and about one of the little pits. 
Setting one end of his rod in the pit, he wound 
about its upper end the loose string of his little 
bow, then fixed on the summit of the rod the 
saddle-like block. 

Kneeling down, while the others gathered curi- 
ously about him, he pressed the front of his chin 
on the “ saddle,” so as to hold the rod firmly up- 
right, with its lower end in the pitted stick, and 
began to move the bow rapidly back and forth. 
This caused the string to wind and unwind, and 
revolve the rod back and forth with great rapidity. 


Much to do with Fire 


253 


It was exactly the contrivance civilized jewellers 
use in drilling gold-plate, etc., but purely an abo- 
riginal invention for all that. 

The effect of this motion, under the firm press- 
ure of his chin, was to grind the hardwood rod 
into the shavings and soft wood, and quickly heat 
them by friction. When machinists drill metal 
in a similar way, they must keep their tools and 
the hole cool by bathing them in water or oil. 
Here the development of heat was the first object, 
and in about a minute blue smoke curled up. 
Then the workman doubled his efforts, and fine 
coals began to fall into the heap of dry dust be- 
side it, whereupon Whalpi stopped his drilling, 
stooped quickly, blew the sparks into more life, 
and in another minute was skilfully feeding a 
minute flame and nursing it into a real fire. 

“ Isn’t that ingenious ? ” exclaimed Andy. 

“A most remarkable example of Injun-uity!” 
cried Cora — and fled to her pantry. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

RELATES THE HOODWINKING OF CHESTNUT 

The first thing requiring attention next morn- 
ing was the repair of the slight damage to the 
fore running-gear of the ambulance, and the mo- 
ment breakfast was over Andy began the work. 

“ Zeph,” he shouted, “ where is the monkey- 
wrench. I can’t do anything till I get this wheel 
off.” 

“In the tool-box, I suppose.” 

“But it isn’t here — I’ve searched carefully. 
Who had it last — have you seen it, Carter? ” 

“ Me? No, I ain’t seen it since we used it that 
day — ’member, Zeph? — when we went back 
after the quinine and you took out the wrench 
254 


The Hoodwinking of Chestnut 255 

to do something or other with it — hammer a 
bent buckle on your girth, I guess. Don’t you 
remember? ” 

“Ye-es, — I do — now; but I allow I put it 
back in the tool-chest.” 

“ I’ll bet you didn’t. I’ll bet you laid it down 
on a rock or something and forgot it, just as you 
did your flint and steel.” 

All hands searched high and low, and came 
to the conclusion Carter was right — greatly to 
Zeph’s chagrin. 

“ I reckon there’s nothing for it but for me to 
ride back and look for it,” he said ruefully. 

“ Oh, I’m so sorry ! ” exclaimed Cora. 

“ Well — it’s rough,” said Andy, “ but the sooner 
you start, the better. Better take Jim. He’ll go 
fastest, but it’ll take you all day, anyhow.” 

Zeph took the bridle and started after the 
horse, when Cora called after him: — 

“ Bring in Chestnut, too, and I’ll ride a mile or 
so with you. I haven’t had a good gallop in a 
’coon’s age ; and I’ll put you up some lunch.” 

Fifteen minutes later they were mounted, and 
with Annie’s parting injunction to be sure and 
go over to the brink of the chasm and see whether 
there were any traces of papa having been there, 
the two friends cantered off. 

When, an hour later, Cora came back, her hair 


256 


An Island in the Air 


flying and eyes sparkling with the exercise, she 
found that Andy and Whalpi had ridden off on 
Carter’s horse and one of the mules to work at 
splitting the boulder, and Annie and Carter had 
just finished putting the camp in order. 

“ Cote,” said her sister, as the girl dismounted, 
and Carter began to unsaddle, “Andy says we are 
to pack everything that we can spare into the 
wagon to-day, because he means to move camp 
to-morrow to the head of the ravine, so as to be 
all ready to go down ; and I thought we’d better 
wash our clothes to-day, for over there we won’t 
have water.” 

“ That’s a good idea — let’s go at it, and we can 
do some sewing this afternoon. I’m glad of a rest- 
ful day — aren’t you ? ” 

“ I certainly am.” 

These housewifely cares occupied the day 
pleasantly ; and in the afternoon Carter went 
off with his gun and brought in a dozen or 
more doves, which he plucked and, under Annie’s 
instruction, made ready for broiling when supper- 
time came. 

As sunset approached Carter was sent to a 
ridge-top near by, from which he could see far 
and wide, and was told to signal to the girls, by 
waving a leafy branch, when he saw the boys 
coming, for the young housekeepers meant to 


The Hoodwinking of Chestnut 257 

surprise them with dinner on the table. The 
plan worked so beautifully that all three came 
together, dashing into camp on the gallop, and 
yelling like a charge of cavalry — all but Whalpi, 
who hung on to the mane of the old mare and 
thanked his gods he had not broken his neck in 
this foolish play. 

Andy had exploded two charges and got rid of 
more than half the rock. Then he had drilled a 
hole and put a charge into a projection of the 
wall and blown that off, and so made a passage 
wide enough to let the horses pass. Thus that 
great obstacle was got out of the way, and the 
rest seemed easy. 

Zeph had found the wrench, and had had no 
adventures nor used up either himself or his 
horse. 

“ I went out to the brink of the chasm, and 
couldn’t see any sign that Mr. Manning or any 
one else had ever been on the farther side. 
Another torrent was tumbling down the moun- 
tain, cutting the trough deeper and deeper, — a 
boom from the last rains, I reckon, — and the big 
gorge has a regular river in its bottom, full of 
rocks and whirlpools. I think the worst one of 
all is right where the ridge was on which we ran 
across — gosh ! that was a close call ! ” 

Whalpi was immensely interested by this infor- 


2 5 8 


An Island in the Air 


mation, and looked very serious when its purport 
was repeated to him. 

“ I fear the gods still dwell in the house of 
wrath,” he muttered. 

All was now ready to begin the descent. The 
plan was first to take down the horses, and on the 
following day to get the mules and camping things 
down to the valley. When they drove over next 
morning, therefore, all the horses were taken 
along, and as soon as possible the experiment 
was to be begun of leading them down the ravine. 
No signs of any Navajos were visible in the long 
extent of valley open to their view. 

“ I’m thinking,” remarked Andy, “ that we’d 
better begin with Chestnut. He is the Smallest 
and most easily managed.” 

The other horses were tied to the wheels of the 
ambulance, the mules turned loose, and all started 
down with the pony. He submitted quietly to 
being led down the ravine, whose roughness of 
path was nothing unusual for a pony of his ex- 
perience, as far as the entrance to the rift, but 
he objected strenuously to that narrow passage. 
They pulled him and pushed him in vain : not a 
step would he budge — and no wonder ! 

“ Go away — the whole lot of you,” Annie cried 
out at last. “ Let me try. Chestnut and I are 
old friends, aren’t we ? ” she whispered as she 


The Hoodwinking of Chestnut 259 

patted the nose of her pet and smoothed his 
mane. 

For a long time she soothed his fears by her 
words and caresses. Then she drew from her 
pocket one of the last of their lumps of sugar, and 
step by step, with many halts and arguments, and 
now and then a sweet reward, she gradually led 
him down to the open ledge, and as far along it 
as the house behind which was the entrance to 
the lower stairway. 

Here an unexpected obstacle presented itself. 
The front door would admit the pony, but the 
opening in the rear wall was too narrow and low. 
A few minutes’ work with a pickaxe remedied 
this, but it brought many scowls to the face of 
the old Moki, who had been so deeply impressed 
by the greatness of his ancestors that he thought 
some ill-luck would surely follow the demolition 
of anything they had left. 

But, alarmed by the work or some other fear, 
Chestnut now balked, and refused to go into the 
half-dark house. Persuasion and scolding alike 
failed, and perhaps they never would have suc- 
ceeded, had not the Indian suggested blindfold- 
ing him. 

But with what ? 

Andy’s blank look was answered by Annie’s 
ready wit, for the next minute the girl’s sunbonnet 


26 o 


An Island in the Air 


was off her head and slipped over the pony’s eyes. 
Amid giggles of half-suppressed merriment she 
led him up and down once or twice, talking to him 
the while, and then into and through the ruin, and 
down the steep stairway, his fears calmed by her 
tone and the friendly hand at his bit. 

A few minutes later those looking down from 
the ledge saw the girls and their pony standing 
safely below at the head of the bushy talus slope. 

Annie and Cora stayed below while the others 
went back for Jim and the old mare, on whose 
saddles were strapped one of the thick canvas 
carriage curtains, and a couple of blankets, for 
Zeph was to stay below with the horses all night. 

When the mules saw the two horses being led 
away, they all came running after them and be- 
gan to follow down the ravine ; and it is quite 
likely they would have come all the way had they 
not been driven back. 

“ That’s all right,” said Zeph. “ They’ll get so 
lonesome ’fore morning it’ll be no trick at all to get 
them down. That’s the way with mules that 
travel in a bunch. Where one goes — especially 
if it’s a horse — all must go. They’re just dead 
stuck on the old mare, and won’t be easy till they 
find her again. You must picket ’em to-night in 
camp or like as not they’ll give you the slip and 
run over here.” 


The Hoodwinking of Chestnut 261 

It was a good two hours of tedious, patient 
labor and risk to lead those horses down, but it 
was safely accomplished at last ; and by two 
o’clock all except Zeph had climbed back to the 
summit of the mesa, finding the mules gathered 
at the foot of the ravine, where the boys had 
barred the outlet with poles, expecting they might 
do this very thing. 

After they had rested a little while, and Whalpi 
had had a smoke and a nap, Andy proposed that 
he, Carter, and the Indian should carry down a 
load of goods. 

“ I say, girls, couldn’t you get us up some sup- 
per here, and then we could drive back late in the 
evening.” 

“ Why, I suppose we could. We could give you 
pilot-bread and the last of the bacon, and some 
tunas — lots of ’em growing about here.” 

“ Oh, well, that’ll do for to-night, and it’ll save 
us a lot of time. What do you say, Whalpi ? ” 

“ It is well,” he assented laconically. 

So each made a bundle of property ; but before 
going the mules were caught and tied by picket 
ropes, each to a stout bush, for the lads didn’t 
want to lose time and labor in catching them 
when they got back, and there was no telling 
what the animals might do in their present un- 
easy state of mind. 


262 


An Island in the Air 


It was after three o’clock when they finally 
went away, and fully six when they returned, for 
they had waited to select a place for a camp in 
the river-bottom, and to build for Zeph a neat 
little wigwam of willows, which Whalpi had 
showed them how to bend and tie into a capital 
dome-shaped hut, covered with the gray front 
curtain of the ambulance, which would not at- 
tract attention by its color among the dull-tinted 
willow-brush. 

Both were very tired, and saw with delight the 
preparations for supper ; but they also saw, what 
the girls had been watching with growing dread, 
that a new storm was raging in the mountains 
and swiftly spreading out over the mesa. So fast 
it came that it was all they could do to throw the 
loose things into the ambulance and jump in after 
them, taking their grub with them to eat as best 
they could. The curtains had hardly been closed 
before torrents of rain were beating on the roof 
of the vehicle. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

SHOWS HOW THE RAIN-GODS PUNISHED THE MOKIS 

It was certainly raining — four quarts to the 
gallon, good measure and running over. Old 
Whalpi’s gods seemed to be making a desperate 
assault upon enemies entrenched behind the icy 
battlements of the Sierra Madre, and the thunders 
of a tremendous cloud-battle reverberated from 
the peaks. 

Rain, wind, and noise increased, until shortly 
such a tempest raged about their shaken shelter 
as the wanderers had never seen but once before, 
and all thoughts turned in comparison to the 
cloud-burst which had whirled, yes, almost floated 
them, on to the mesa a month before. Though 

263 



264 


An Island in the Air 


not long after sunset, the darkness of night en- 
shrouded them, lit only by lightning, fast and 
furious. 

The scene was striking enough for all, but the 
old fanatic seemed fascinated, and sat so near the 
open front of the ambulance that he was not 
half sheltered. The wind blew toward them from 
the west, and the constant thunder, as it rolled 
near and nearer, seemed to jar the wagon with 
its deep reverberations, which succeeded one 
another as rapidly as the firing of a battery in 
action. 

And the lightning! None of them had ever 
seen anything to equal it. Now and then a zig- 
zag flash left its sharp imprint upon the eye long 
after the darkness had swallowed its dazzling 
track ; but chiefly the lightning was of that uni- 
versal kind which lights up earth and sky in one 
vivid, violet blaze. 

When one of these broad and enduring glares 
of purple fire burst out, the interior of the wagon, 
the faces of all the hushed company, and the fea- 
tures of the whole landscape were exposed, as if a 
black shutter had been raised, then dropped, be- 
fore their eyes. 

Old Whalpi’s visage, out there in front where 
the rain and hail beat and the lightnings glared 
upon it, was a subject for a painter like Dore. 


The Rain- gods Punish the Mokis 265 

His lips were open and his rapt eyes glittered as 
the electric blaze lifted out of the murk, almost 
incessantly, the rocky heights beneath which the 
old pueblo stood and its round watch-tower on 
the summit — here in plain view. 

Suddenly a prodigiously sharp and loud report 
and a blinding gush of violet flame filled the air, 
shot through by a bolt of fire which, plainly seen 
by all, fell full upon the ancient tower and shiv- 
ered it to atoms ; and at this, with a yell of mortal 
terror, the priest of the Mokis sprang from his 
seat and darted away into the night and the tem- 
pest toward the scene of the catastrophe. 

Such storms never last long, and before mid- 
night this one died away into merely a respect- 
able drizzle. Any return to camp that night was, 
of course, not to be thought of, and the four 
brothers and sisters curled up as best they could 
and tried to sleep, but found it a failure; and 
never had they found the coming of morning- 
more welcome. With the first daylight they 
looked for the mules, and were more than pleased 
to find them still picketed and unhurt, though 
they looked very disconsolate. All wondered how 
Zeph had fared, and Andy was starting to look 
him up when that youth presented himself in 
doleful plight. 


266 


An Island in the Air 


“ Oh, Zeph,” Cora called out in genuine greet- 
ing, “ I’m so glad to see you alive ! Wasn’t it 
awful down there ? ” 

“ Rather damp. Just look at me,” and he wrung 
a stream of moisture out of his coat. 

“ Why, you’ll catch your death-cold ! ” 

“ No, I won’t. The sun’ll dry me up in a few 
minutes. Here it comes — look!” 

“ As a rule,” drawled Andy, “ I’m a heap more 
fond of the setting than the rising sun,” as all eyes 
turned toward the great orange disk lifting grandly 
above the red crags and plateaus that stretched far 
away into the southeast, “ but I’m right glad to 
see him this time. How’d you get on ? ” 

“ Get on ? I never slept a wink. Had to stand 
up and hold my mouth shut to keep from drown- 
ing ; and then I had to hop round like a chicken 
on a hot shovel to keep from freezing. Fine night 
for August that was ! ” 

“ Didn’t the horses stampede ? ” 

“No — they’re all right. Hid in the brush; 
crawled out at daybreak looking like drowned 
rats. Say, didn’t the lightning strike up here 
somewhere ? ” 

“ Knocked that tower on the top of the Butte 
into smithereens. But you’d ’a’ laughed to see 
old Whalpi go flying out into the rain when he 
saw the stones come down, yelling like one of his 


The Rain-gods Punish the Mokis 267 

fiends. I expect he thought all the gods were 
after him that time sure ! ” 

“ I wonder where Whalpi is, and why he don’t 
come back,” said Annie. “ I hope no harm has 
happened to him.” 

“We must go back to camp if we expect to get 
any breakfast,” Cora interrupted. “ I have nothing 
for you here, and we ought to have a cup of hot 
tea or coffee — even if it is the last we shall get.” 

“ Let’s be goin’ then, right smart,” exclaimed 
Zeph, and he set off at a stiff dog-trot, his teeth 
chattering in spite of his pluck, to bring in the 
mules, which rattled them over the road to camp 
at almost runaway speed, so delighted were they 
to have a chance to warm up, — or perhaps they 
hoped to find their friends, the horses, there. 

The trees had so sheltered the tent that every- 
thing seemed in fair order ; and on the under side 
of the log they had left smouldering in a bank of 
ashes, coals were still alive sufficient to start a fire. 

“ Carter, run and get me a pail of water from 
the spring the first thing,” cried Annie, as they 
came to the tent. 

“ I’ll go with you,” said Cora ; “ it will do me 
good to wash my face in the cold water.” 

“ And me, too,” exclaimed Andy and Zeph in 
chorus. 

“ Oh, well, wait till I get some towels and we’ll 


268 


An Island in the Air 


all go,” Annie called out laughingly, — “and 
wash each other’s faces, if you like.” 

So presently all trooped off together in gay 
mood, while Nig and Bimber, who had passed a 
wretched night under the wagon, frisked and 
barked as though this were a picnic. The dis- 
tance was short, and three minutes took them to 
the nook in the rocky hillside where the noble 
fountain gushed out so copiously to run its brief, 
romantic career. With one mind the merry 
group stopped short and stood dumb in amaze- 
ment and consternation. 

The great spring was dry ! 

There were the overhanging rocks, the circle 
of reeds and aquatic plants, the big stone upon 
which they were wont to stand and dip water; 
but instead of bubbling crystal liquid, they saw 
only a basin of stones. The outlet carried no 
current, the channel was empty, no noisy torrent 
swirled and eddyed to its eclipse in the dark cave, 
and nothing but a pool left here and there re- 
mained of the Sacred Spring and its marvellous 
river. 

All this at a glance ; and a second glance 
showed Whalpi sitting on the bank of the vacant 
basin, his head bowed into his hands. 

They ran forward and spoke to him, but he 
paid no heed, until Annie, laying her hand upon 


The Rain-gods Punish the Mokis 269 

one of his, begged him to come to their fire and 
dry his soaked garments and get something to eat. 
Then he answered, but without raising his head: — 

“No — leave me, my daughter — thou who 
hast been as a flower in my path, or a cool wind 
in the desert. Leave me. What was told by 
the fathers has come true. The gods have over- 
turned the watch-tower, for now there is no longer 
need of a watchman, and stopped the life-giving 
spring. The Mokis must perish off the face of 
the earth.” 

No arguments could move him; and filling 
their bucket from one of the pools which here 
and there remained in the deeper spots of the 
channel, each bade him a kindly adios and turned 
away. At the top of the bank they looked back. 
The sunlight was blazing down into the hollows 
of the empty fountain, but the lonely figure 
beside it had vanished. 

Awed by this strange phenomenon and its 
mystic meaning, which would startle the least 
superstitious, and shocked by the thought of 
what it would have meant to them a fortnight 
before, it is no wonder that the breakfast was 
prepared and eaten almost in silence, and that a 
feeling that somehow the pretty valley had be- 
come uncanny chilled the blitheness of each 
young traveller. 


270 


An Island in the Air 


An hour later, having loaded the tent, kitchen 
chest, and everything else into the wagon, they 
bade farewell to the place which had been their 
home for the most momentous month of their lives, 
not precisely with regret, yet startled and saddened 
at their strange dismissal. 



CHAPTER XXXV 


SEES THE PARTY SAFELY DOWN IN THE VALLEY 

Arrived at the head of the ravine again, the 
first thing to be done was to get the four mules 
down into the valley. Zeph started ahead, lead- 
ing one by a halter, Andy followed leading one 
and driving another, — all had on their harness, — 
and Carter followed with the fourth. They went 
well enough as far as the rift, in whose narrow 
and steep passages they began to take an interest, 
with ears cocked forward, that betokened trouble ; 
but they were skilfully handled and taken out on 
the ledge all right. 

Here the leader balked, but Zeph was patient 
and gentle, kept quiet, and let the animal become 


272 


An Island in the Air 


accustomed to its surroundings, and worked it 
along to the little tunnel. Here came another 
halt, but after a bit the mule began to smell of 
the walls against which the horses had rubbed, 
and stepped along through ; the others were kept 
well behind, but not out of sight, and they 
watched the actions of their leader with intense 
interest It was evident that the first mule per- 
ceived that its lost friends, the horses, had been 
there, and wanted to follow their trail, but was 
timid — probably fearing some sort of trap. But 
Zeph was an old friend, and where he was it 
seemed safe, and so little by little Zeph worked 
it along to the last house, through which it was 
necessary to go to reach the lowest stairway. Here 
the mulish mind was seized with doubt, just as 
Chestnut had been, and the boys thought that 
once more would they have to use Annie’s sun- 
bonnet, when Zeph managed to get the animal’s 
nose against the door-post. It began to sniff up 
and down and step forward. Zeph let it go. 

“ I do believe,” one might see the animal saying 
to itself, “ I do believe those horses went down 
this way. Yes, it must be so ; and this is the 
way for me to follow — and maybe if I hurry I’ll 
catch ’em ! ” 

The result was a plunge, and the way the boy 
and the mule clattered down that rough, dark 


273 


Safely Down in the Valley 

trail threatened the destruction of both. It was 
all Zeph could do to keep his feet and escape 
being crushed against the wall ; as it was, he was 
well bruised before he got to the bottom. 

The other mules, seeing their leader disappear, 
and easily able to smell its trail, dropping their 
noses to the ground like dogs to do so, went down 
more steadily, but without trouble ; and the result 
was that in about three-quarters of an hour all the 
stock was picketed together in the valley, well 
hidden among thickets of tall willows from the 
eyes of any wandering redskins. 

The girls had not gone below the ledge, and 
as soon as they saw the animals and their drivers 
emerge safely on the top of the talus they hast- 
ened above and began to unpack cooking things 
and various necessities which must be got down 
as soon as possible. 

When the boys returned, lunch was ready ; and 
half an hour later all five shouldered as large 
bundles as they could carry and descended with 
them. It was hard work, and they were glad to 
rest awhile at the bottom, where a little camp 
was built in a small glade among willows and 
cottonwoods near the border of a branch of the 
main river, which they found, after a little explo- 
ration, enclosed on this side a large, bushy island, 
where the stock was turned loose, with the old 


An Island in the Air 


274 

mare hobbled. It was comical to see how closely 
the mules stuck to this horse, as if determined not 
to lose her a second time. 

But it was needful that more things should be 
brought down, and the lads a third time that day 
toiled to the summit of the mesa, refusing to let 
the girls go — they had done enough. Here they 
made up loads for the next morning, as well as to 
be carried down that night, and Zeph was suffi- 
ciently curious to take a run over to the pueblo, 
but came quickly back to tell them that the light- 
ning had not only scattered the tower, but that 
the wind had toppled over upon the estufa a wall 
which stood near, filling it with rubbish, so that 
no one could now get at the picture-writings except 
by long digging; and lastly that the pond was dry, 
save for a few pools. 

Gathering up their packages, they started down 
the hill-path, and were toiling along the ledge, 
when they were startled to encounter the old 
medicine man, sitting in the doorway of one of 
the cliff-houses, his face buried between the wan 
hands on his knees as before. 

They hailed him eagerly. They were glad to 
see him, pitied him in his distress, and wanted to 
cheer him up, for all had come to like the queer 
old fellow a great deal. They told him so, and 
warmly invited him to come with them; but 


275 


Safely Down in the Valley 

with simple dignity and inflexible firmness he 
thanked them and refused all entreaties. 

“ Go,” he said, stretching out a hand as if to 
bless. “ Go, my children, and may all of your 
gods smile upon you as the sun of May gladdens 
the flowers.” 

So they left him and tramped on ; and as they 
went they heard the lonely crags and ruined 
houses of a lost people echoing a plaintive chant 
that rose and fell upon the breeze, and went and 
came again, the very soul of grief. 

One who has not been through the experience 
can hardly realize with what intense enjoyment 
the boys drank that evening from the sweet and 
cool water of the river, after working through a 
hot day upon the dead and tepid liquid in their 
canteens. There is drouth in the very scenery, 
and thirst in the dusty air. 

Nor was this all of their pleasure, for the 
ancient beaver-dams, now overgrown with bushes, 
which filled all this part of the creek-bottom and 
no doubt still harbored many an industrious col- 
ony, enclosed shady pools too tempting to be re- 
sisted. The young men were soon heels over 
head into one of them, while Annie and Cora 
were to be heard splashing somewhere beyond 
the willows. Soft green grass was another luxury 


2 76 


An Island in the Air 


to which they had long been strangers, and they 
lounged upon it in restful contentment as they 
saw the cook put the very last slice of bacon into 
the frying-pan as grease for the jerked deer-meat, 
and resolved to postpone till to-morrow any worry 
as to where more was coming from. 

“ Some Nim rod’ll have to do some more shoot- 
ing presently,” remarked Cora, but nobody re- 
sponded. 

Nevertheless, they did not forget that they were 
now in the country of the Philistines, and must 
keep their eyes peeled for Amalekites. Carter 
and the girls had learned enough of frontier 
caution to be careful, without instruction, in 
building their fire to use nothing but dry sticks, 
so as to avoid smoke as far as possible ; and when 
it became dark, all hands knew better than to 
make the big fire which would have been so en- 
joyable in this pretty spot, but gathered comfort- 
ably ’round a mere heap of coals which would not 
easily be noticed from a distance through the 
bushes that hemmed it in. For the same reason 
the conspicuous white tent was not set up, the 
girls using it instead to lay their beds upon, fold- 
ing the corners up over them when they went to 
sleep. 

There was one comfort — no guard needed to 
be kept. Bimber, indeed, in this strange place 


Safely Down in the Valley 277 

seemed to feel anew his responsibility as night- 
watchman. 

It was his regular custom — nobody had taught 
him, it was just a relic of his wild ancestry linger- 
ing as an instinct in his mind — to make the 
rounds of the camp as soon as the dusk began to 
deepen. He would march warily, ears cocked up, 
nostrils sniffing, in a large circle about the biv- 
ouac, now and then giving tongue to a low, de- 
fiant bark, warning all and sundry to keep away, 
and making sure that no red enemy was lurking 
near. Nig would follow after as a sort of sup- 
porting guard, but Bimber, as always, was the 
moving spirit, and it was not until he had made 
his rounds completely that he would come to the 
fire and curl up for his evening snooze. He al- 
ways did this, but to-night was more cautious 
and thorough than usual, and seemed to appre- 
ciate the justice of the reward when Cora patted 
the little black head which lay against her knee 
and called him her corporal of the guard. 

No Indians had been noticed, to be sure, for 
many days, but there was no telling when some 
wandering band might not appear, nor what mis- 
chief would follow. The redskins might prove 
friendly toward these stray “ palefaces,” but they 
might not ! 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

IN WHICH REDSKINS APPEAR AND A FORT IS BUILT 

Nothing happened to disturb the company 
that night, however, and early next morning, 
well rested, they were up and at work. They 
were roused, indeed, by Zeph, who had stolen out 
with the earliest dawn, and walking quietly up the 
valley, had stalked a band of antelope and shot a 
handsome buck, which he brought back before the 
camp was awake, and announced with a shout 
that opened the sleepy eyes soon after sunrise. 

Breakfast over, all hands were starting to climb 
the mesa, when Zeph suggested that it would be 
a good idea to catch and tether the animals on 
this side the creek near camp. 

273 


Redskins Appear and a Fort is Built 279 

“ There’s no telling what the critters may do 
when they find we’ve gone — and they’ll know it 
soon enough. The horses wouldn’t guess it in 
a week, but those mules know everything that is 
going on. I believe they can see farther into the 
future than old Whalpi himself, in spite of his 
gods and his medicine.” 

This precaution taken, they slowly ascended to 
the summit of the mesa; and there, while the 
girls wrapped a bundle apiece in a carriage cur- 
tain and lugged them off, the boys dragged out 
the four large, movable chests and two trunks, 
and began to work them down the steep and 
winding path, here letting them slide, and there 
lifting and carrying, one by one, until at last they 
were all down. Then they were piled in a neat 
heap on the higher ground just outside the bushy 
bottom-lands, where they might easily be loaded 
upon the wagon, when, last of all, that should be 
brought down and put together. By this time it 
was noon. 

Luncheon over, the boys started off for another 
trip to the summit of the mesa, leaving the sisters 
in camp, who promptly curled up under a tree on 
the bank of the river and went at fishing with a 
bent pin on the end of a thread. They had not 
been intent upon this peaceful occupation long 
enough to find out whether it was going to be 


28 o 


An Island in the Air 


worth their trouble or not, when they were startled 
by Andy, who came dashing through the bushes 
with the other two lads, the dogs at his heels, 
and all made straight for the place where the horses 
and mules were feeding. 

“What’s the matter?” cried Cora, jumping up. 

“ Redskins ! ” Carter shouted, as he plunged 
into the willows after his brother; and hearing 
this, the girls dropped their rods and ran after 
him as hard as they could go. 

The stock was tethered in a glade just beyond, 
and, each person seizing the lariat of the horse or 
mule nearest him, the small herd was soon hidden 
among the bushes and re-tied. 

Then the boys found time to explain that from 
the ledge they had caught sight of a band of Ind- 
ians coming up the valley from the southwest. 
They were three or four miles away as yet, and 
on the other side of the river, but there was no 
counting upon their staying there. 

“This would be a mighty bad place to be 
caught in,” Zeph exclaimed. “ They could creep 
through the brush, like the snakes they are, and 
shoot us down before we laid eyes on ’em at all.” 

“ That’s so,” Andy agreed. “ On the other 
hand, they may overlook us and ride by, that is, 
as long as they stay on the other side of the 
river.” 


Redskins Appear and a Fort is Built 281 

“ Couldn’t we set the boxes in a sort of square 
so as to form a kind of fort ? ” asked Cora. “ You 
know men on the plains have beaten off Indians 
— crowds of them — by fighting behind wagons 
and piles of goods.” 

“ Y es, I reckon that’s what we’ll have to do, if 
they find us and it comes to a fight.” 

“ And only three guns,” groaned Carter. “ I 
wish that plaguy bear hadn’t busted my shot- 
gun ! ” 

A reminiscent grin swept over the faces of the 
crowd, in spite of “ the gravity of the situation,” 
as the newspapers would say. 

They hurried to their chests and dragged them 
into three sides of a hollow square, where a large 
rock would protect their rear. Then a log was 
found and laid on top ; bundles of blankets banked 
it up, and many big stones were added. All to- 
gether they had constructed in twenty minutes or 
so a low breastwork, hardly large enough for them 
all to get into, which was a little better than noth- 
ing. As a last touch the tent was doubled and 
spread over one corner, with the stiff carriage cur- 
tains on top of it. 

“ That’ll be some protection for the girls against 
arrows, anyhow,” said Andy, as they finished ; “ and 
lots of these rascals have no guns. ’Tain’t much 
of a bombproof, but may save some wounds.” 


282 


An Island in the Air 


In a few minutes more the ammunition and 
everything needed had been placed within the 
tiny fort, especially all the water they could put 
into their bottles, coffee-pot, tin pail, and every- 
thing that would hold it. Nothing remained but 
to wait for what might happen. 

“ I’m thankful we’ve been so careful of ammuni- 
tion,” said Andy. 

“ And I'm thankful,” exclaimed Cora, “ that 
father had the prudence always to keep a large 
supply in the ambulance stores. Oh, if only he 
were here ! ” 

From their position they could see a good dis- 
tance down the valley, but were not themselves 
likely to attract attention. Presently a small 
company of riders was discerned trotting across 
an opening in the trees a quarter of a mile below. 

“ There they are ! ” whispered Annie, who was 
the first to catch sight of them, and whose face 
was pale, though her resolution kept her from 
open fright. Cora showed her excitement differ- 
ently. She was angry, and longed for another 
rifle, that she might take a hand in the fray. 

“ If only the dogs won’t bark ! ” she exclaimed 
as she cuddled Bimber. 

Here’s where the terrier’s dog sense was likely 
to do harm to the masters and friends he would 
wish to help. He was ready to fight in their 


Redskins Appear and a Fort is Built 283 

defence, but he didn’t know human tactics, and 
could not be expected to understand that dog 
tactics would not serve in an Indian war. 

But the Indians — there were fifteen or twenty 
of them — were passing on out of sight in a 
straggling line ; and it seemed likely they would 
go right on up the valley, when one of the mules 
and then another began to bray as if possessed 
by imps. Back came the loud whinny of a mus- 
tang, and the boys knew they were in for it. The 
redskins instantly halted, and could be seen point- 
ing out to one another the place where the mules 
had raised such an ill-timed clamor, and then the 
band raced back down the river, and disappeared 
beyond the opening through the trees where they 
were first seen. 

“ Why, they’ve run away ! ” said Carter. 

“ They’re looking for a ford, I reckon. Zeph, 
run out on that knoll and let us know the 
moment they show themselves on this side.” 

A few minutes later Zeph waved his arms as a 
signal, and came back to the fort on the jump. 

“ They’re just beyond that point of brush,” he 
exclaimed, and the words were hardly out of his 
mouth when the clatter of galloping hoofs was 
heard and the band came toward them with a 
rush. Every one crouched low until the Indians 
were only a hundred yards away, when Andy rose 


284 


An Island in the Air 


straight up, and setting his rifle to his shoulder 
drew a bead on the foremost rider. 

In an instant the whole band wheeled and 
raced out of range. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

IS A STORY OF BATTLE 

Having ridden off out of range, the redskins 
halted and held a talk, many dismounting. Pres- 
ently one remounted and came forward alone, 
holding up both hands to show he was unarmed 
and on an errand of peace. Andy stood up again, 
rifle in hand, but not aiming it until the warrior 
had come to a point about a hundred yards from 
the fort. Then up came the muzzle and the rider 
stopped his pony. 

“ I want to talk,” he shouted in broken Spanish, 
and slid off his horse. 

“ I am going out to talk with him,” said Andy. 
“Everybody stay under cover, so that he can’t see 

285 



286 


An Island in the Air 


how many of us are here, and you, Zeph, keep 
watch with your gun ready to stop any tricks. 
Hold my rifle, Carter.” 

Andy sprang over the breastwork and marched 
out, and ahead of him raced a little runaway dog, 
straight for the Indian’s naked calves. A minute 
later Cora’s ears were distracted by a heart- 
rending yelp as the Navajo’s leathern quirt curled 
lovingly (and stingingly) around the dog’s waist, 
and Bimber retreated in good order to tell his 
friends in voluble dog language what he thought 
of redskins in general and that one in particular. 
From Nig, however, he got no sympathy. Her 
gruff woof ! said plainly : “ Served you right for 
being a fool.” 

Meanwhile they saw Andy meet the Indian — 
who stood leaning on his horse, a fine black 
animal — and hold a short conversation. Then 
the enemy sprang upon his horse and cantered 
away, and Andy walked rapidly back to his army. 

“ What did he say ? ” was the question on all 
lips. 

“ Said we had come into their country without 
asking permission of its owners — the Navajos — 
and must get out. If we would go straight away 
and leave all our stock and goods, they would not 
harm us. If not, they’d kill us, and take our stuff 
anyhow.” 


2 8y 


A Story of Battle 

“ Mercy ! ” cried Annie, under her breath. 

“ What’d you tell him ? ” Zeph growled. 

“ Told him he lied ; and that if he wanted us, 
he’d have to come and take us — a lot of us ! I 
don’t believe he knows two are girls and the rest 
nothing but boys. You must all lie low and not 
let him know it, either. If we started off afoot, 
the redskins would surely give chase, sooner or 
later, and kill us or make us slaves. There’s no 
trusting ’em ; and even if they didn’t, we’d most 
likely fall into the clutches of some other band or 
starve to death. May as well take our chances 
right here.” 

“ Of course we will,” Cora declared grimly. 
“ Carter, where’s your pistol ? ” 

“ Here, in my belt.” 

“ Well, you use that, and give me that shot-gun, 
— it’s too heavy for you anyhow, — mayn’t I have 
it, Andy ? ” 

“ Do you think you can shoot straight — won’t 
go crazy ? ” 

“Crazy? — Pouf! If I didn’t really think I 
could do better for all of us with the gun than 
little Carter, I wouldn’t ask it.” 

“ Well, take it,” said Andy, “ and shoot through 
that opening there beside Zeph. Nan, you stay 
close under cover and be ready to play surgeon 
or — chaplain ! ” 


288 


An Island in the Air 


While these preparations were making, all kept 
an eye on what their enemies were doing. At 
first they gathered in a bunch and talked for five 
or ten minutes. Then they began throwing off 
their coats and blankets and tying them behind 
their saddle-cloths or round their waists, and 
drawing bows and arrows from the rabbit-skin 
cases now slung across their naked shoulders. 
When all were ready and mounted, one of them 
— the only one who had a gun (which proved to 
be an old Mexican army-musket) stepped out in 
front and harangued them for a long time, working 
their courage up to noisy enthusiasm, then sud- 
denly whirled his horse about and led the first 
charge. 

“ Here they come ! ” exclaimed Andy. “ Lie 
low and be ready, but wait for orders.” 

Lashing and kicking their scraggy ponies, and 
whooping like a pack of coyotes (setting the two 
dogs barking loudly), the savages came rushing 
toward the small fortress in a whirlwind of noise, 
dust, and gravel. As they got within gun-range 
they scattered widely, and every mother’s son of 
them threw himself down on the farther side of 
his horse, where he clung by his heel, and sup- 
ported his body in a loop of his lariat fastened to 
the cinch, or around the pony’s neck. In that 
position the Indians were largely protected from 


A Story of Battle 289 

bullets, and at the same time able to shoot either 
over or under the pony’s neck. 

“ Don’t fire till I tell you,” Andy commanded. 
“ Zeph, you take that big fellow on the black horse. 
I can’t kill a man I’ve just been chatting with. 
I’ll take the chief. Cora, Carter, hold your fire 
till I speak. 

“ Now ! ” 

Two echoing shots rang out almost as one, fol- 
lowed by the unexpected crack of the pistol. The 
black horse tumbled on his head and lay still, but 
his rider leaped nimbly to his feet and dropped out 
of sight behind a bush. Carter’s bullet, let loose 
in pure nervousness, hit, by chance, one of the 
riders, who dropped his bow and nearly fell, but 
managed to regain his seat and force his horse to 
carry him on out of range. Andy had apparently 
missed the flying target he aimed at, but the 
chief or some other archer had not missed him, 
for of the half a dozen arrows which came pelt- 
ing into the fort, one glanced off the canvas, 
under which Annie and the dogs were cowering, 
and buried its head in the calf of the hero’s leg. 

In an instant Annie was at her brother’s side, 
scissors and water and bandage — a strip from a 
petticoat — ready for service, and was ripping 
open his trousers’ leg to get at the wound, from 
which she had withdrawn the arrow. 


2 go 


An Island in the Air 


“Never mind it!” Andy called out with his 
eye on the foe. “No time now ! ” 

Those in front had galloped on, but the rear 
half of the band swung inward and dashed close 
past the left front of the fort in a circular course, 
sending a flight of arrows and fleeing southward 
like the wind. Instead of ordering Cora to fire, 
Andy, to her indignation, snatched the gun from 
her hands and let fly two charges of buck-shot. 
One horse was hit so hard he never reappeared, 
and the other shot went wild ; but the effect was 
to check the onslaught and hasten the retreat. 

The Indians halted about an eighth of a mile 
below, dismounted, and waited until their fellows 
had joined them, by making a safely wide detour 
toward the cliffs. The unhorsed warrior tried to 
creep stealthily out of range, and probably suc- 
ceeded unhurt, though Zeph took a long shot at 
him. One of the redskins was holding a hand to 
his head, as though it felt sore, and the boys con- 
cluded that that was where Carter’s little pistol- 
ball had nicked his pate and half stunned him for 
a minute. 

While Zeph reloaded the guns, Annie and her 
brother had time to attend to his wound, which 
was only in the flesh, and had cut no artery or 
tendon. It hurt, but did not disable, and was 
well washed and bandaged before Cora warned 


A Story of Battle 291 

them that the Indians seemed to be preparing for 
another charge. 

Once more the cliffs echoed the thud of hoofs, 
and clatter of gravel, and the horrid whoops and 
yells, rising into a sort of chant as they drew 
nearer and nearer, of the Amalekites of this land 
of the Philistines. It was nerve-shaking, and no 
wonder the dogs howled and bayed again. Then 
Andy issued his orders : — 

“ Zeph, give Cora your rifle and take the shot- 
gun. Cora, rest your gun on that box and fire 
at the first man who passes that little cedar. 
Zeph and Carter, you hold your fire till you see 
whether those behind will turn again. If they do 
not , let ’em have it as they go by. Now, Cote ! ” 
Crack ! spoke her rifle, and over her shoulder 
flew Bimber, broken strap and all, straight at the 
enemy. The foremost horse caught the bullet, 
with a thud at which the girl’s heart sickened, 
then whirled, staggered, fell, and hurled its rider, 
the chief, to the ground, where he quickly gained 
his feet, only to find his gun broken in two and 
nothing left for him to do but drop behind a rock 
and wriggle away as best he could. Andy’s rifle 
rang out and a splintered bow flew from the hands 
of the next redskin, just as his arrow was harm- 
lessly loosed. 

And there, in the midst of the scrimmage, was 


292 


An Island in the Air 


a small black-and-white fury of a dog, racing with 
the ponies, barking, snapping, and dodging, now 
lost to sight in the dust, now leaping at some 
galloping steed. 

As before, the rear of the party started to 
wheel, whereupon Carter’s little pistol sparkled, 
and Zeph stood straight up, heedless of arrows, 
and with deliberate aim knocked a redskin from 
his saddle. There was a momentary confusion 
in their ranks, a chorus of cries, and all reined 
their horses back and headed straight on after 
their fellows. Zeph still stood erect, but did not 
pull trigger, holding his second barrel in reserve. 

Just at that instant a pony stumbled, and its 
swarthy rider, who was busy fitting an arrow to 
the bowstring, went diving over its head. It was 
a most unlucky time and place, for as the young 
Navajo lit heavily on his head and shoulders, 
knocking half the breath and wits out of him, 
right there, ready for him, was Bimber, — a dog 
that knew his business. With a joyous rush he 
was at the prostrate rider, and the place he 
fastened his teeth was just the best he could 
have chosen — the man’s right-hand thumb, which 
in a jiffy was made useless for pulling a bow- 
string for a long time to come ; and so another 
enemy was put out of the fight. Bully for Bim ! 

Leaping to his feet, the Indian ran howling 


293 


A Story of Battle 

toward the last of the band, who stopped a 
moment, pulled his wounded comrade up be- 
hind him, and carried him away. 

At that instant Annie suddenly cried out: — 

“ Listen ! What is that ? ” 

She was standing outside her shelter, her face 
turned up the creek, eastward, where the sav- 
ages were still visible. All bent their heads and 
held their breaths. Then came the gladdest 
sound that has struck human ears since the 
pibroch was sounded at Lucknow. 

A bugle was ringing clear and sharp, though 
yet far away, sounding the cavalry call to gallop. 

Heedless of exposure, every one sprang to their 
feet, and Zeph leaped upon the parapet, shouting, 
“ This way ! This way ! ” at the top of his voice, 
while Bimber, who had come in frenzied with 
excitement, danced on his hind legs, and went 
through the motions of barking without a sound 
coming from his dry throat. 

“ Look out ! ” screamed Cora, in an agony of 
alarm. “ The Indians are coming back ! ” 

“ Let them ! ” Zeph yelled back, jumping up 
and down with excitement. “ Look there ! ” 

And as he pointed up the valley, a small 
squadron of United States dragoons, sabres swing- 
ing high and flashing in the sun, came thundering 
down the slope, rushing to the rescue. Pell-mell 


294 An Island in the Air 

the astonished Navajos scurried by, some ponies 
carrying double ; but no guns at the fort were 
loaded ready to stop them, and perhaps would 
not have been so used if they were, for, after all, 
our friends were not bloodthirsty. 

With a swing of his sword the officer at the 
head of the squadron waved a salute as the dra- 
goons swept by; but one man, not in uniform, 
turned out and came galloping toward the little 
fort. 

“ Papa ! ” cried Annie, and springing over the 
boxes like an antelope, she ran to meet him. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 


BRINGS THE TALE TO A HAPPY END 

Why should any one try to describe the joy of 
such a meeting ? The embraces and hand-grips, 
the tears that would not be kept back, the eager 
questions so rapidly asked and answered, the 
thanks to God — what need is there of setting 
these down ? 

The soldiers had disappeared, except a corporal, 
who almost at first had been sent back, as he 
sang out in passing the happy group, to call up 
“ the leftenant and the doctor.” 

“ There’s another squadron encamped just over 
the ridge, under Lieutenant Abert and Dr. 
Kennedy,” Mr. Manning explained. “The scouts 
295 


296 


An Island in the Air 


heard your firing before the advance troop had 
unsaddled, and Captain King lit out on the jump. 
Your mother, let me tell you again, is all right 
— in good health and the guest of the Colonel at 
Santa Fe. 

“ You see, we made up our minds you had seen 
the storm coming and had driven down to the 
valley and been captured by the Navajos, who 
had taken your stock and turned you loose afoot. 
We didn’t believe they had hurt you, so mamma 
was cheered and hopeful. And you see we were 
right.” 

“ Oh, were you ! ” exclaimed Cora, and every- 
body shouted with laughter. They were too 
happy to care for small troubles at present. 

“ Why, father, we’ve got all our animals and 
the wagon and all our goods — only the grub’s 
mostly gone — and have had a great time.” 

“ And wound up with a bee-yu-tiful, gory, 
roary fight ! ” shouted Zeph. “ By the way, I 
wonder if I killed that poor devil ! ” And he ran 
off to look after the Indian he had knocked off 
his horse. 

So they sat down and told the wonderful story, 
and Mr. Manning’s surprise and pride grew with 
every step of the tale. 

“ By thunder ! ” he declared. “ I never heard 
of such a thing. It doesn’t seem possible ! ” 


A Happy End 297 

Then bugles answered to bugles, and from 
east and west the cavalry approached, — a hun- 
dred from up the creek, with a pack-train of 
mules following them; and here was John — to 
be greeted enthusiastically and rejoice all over 
again. 

“ Hannah said, Miss Annie, that she ‘ ’spect’d 
dey was makin’ pies ’ of you ! ” 

Then from the west came trotting back all the 
fifty or so jolly troopers who had continued the 
chase. These brought back the whole Indian 
band as prisoners. They had caught them at 
the ford, and the redskins had thrown up their 
hands and surrendered without another shot. 
After all, it was not a regular war-party, but only 
a wandering band of young braves in search of 
adventures. They had found one ! 

Zeph was waiting beside the fallen warrior. 
The prisoners, riding on their tired horses, each 
led by a trooper, set up a wild death-chant as they 
approached the body, but Zeph told them to 
“ shut up, — nobody was dead ; ” so they lifted his 
unconscious form and laid him across a horse 
and carried him to the fort, where the two 
doctors soon brought him to, picked the buck- 
shot out of his scalp and shoulder, and told him 
he’d get well pretty soon. Then they fixed up 
the thumb Bimber had chewed so opportunely; 


298 An Island in the Air 

and the Captain said the dog should be pro- 
moted at once to corporal and get a medal for 
“distinguished services on the field of battle.” 
Whereat Bim wagged his two inches of tail 
most appreciatively and lay down to sleep. He 
was modest, as are all true heroes ; and, besides, 
he was weary. 

By this time the officers were introduced, the 
troop-horses were unsaddled and turned loose to 
graze under the care of herd-guards (John had 
taken the mules to a feeding-ground of their 
own), tents were rising in orderly array, and 
here and there the cook’s fires were blazing. 
Carter watched these proceedings with vast inter- 
est, and then crept up to his father. 

“ Will they give us something to eat ? ” he 
asked anxiously. “ I’m awful hungry.” 

“ Pretty soon, my boy. I expect you’ve been 
on short rations,” was the reply, as he threw his 
arm about the lad’s shoulders and pressed him to 
his side. 

What a meal that was — potatoes ! butter ! 
beefsteak ! Well ! ! How the officers’ eyes opened 
as they heard the story over again; and what 
pretty things they said to the young ladies, who 
blushed less with pleasure at the compliment than 
with shyness as they remembered how soiled and 
dishevelled they must look. 


299 


A Happy End 

Evening was rapidly approaching. A tent was 
set up for Cora and Annie, and another for the 
lads, while Mr. Manning took his accustomed 
quarters with the surgeon. Sentinels were posted, 
the prisoner placed under night guards, and a 
jolly session followed around a great fire at head- 
quarters, while the songs and laughter of the 
troopers in their camp gave a sense of life and 
company and security which was very grateful to 
the young wanderers who had so long been facing 
danger alone. Then was heard the sweet and 
solemn notes of taps , blown upon the two bugles. 
It echoed from the ruins high on the mesa front, 
went wandering up the canyons, and floated out 
across the billowy stretch of willows beneath 
which a silent river was sweeping away to the 
sea; and soon the tired but happy adventurers 
were asleep. 

Reveille woke them with a start at sunrise next 
morning, and the young ladies came out rested 
and fresh in the good dresses they had been sav- 
ing in the bottom of their trunk. 

“ I was fighting for these frocks,” said Cora, as 
she opened the trunk across whose top, a few 
hours before, she had fired her rifle in genuine 
battle. 

“Oh, Cote,” cried Annie, whirling her sister 
around and kissing her, “ you were so brave ! 


300 


An Island in the Air 


I think you were just made for a soldier’s wife. 
I’m jealous of you already. Isn't the lieutenant 
nice ! ” 

“ Nan, Nan ! You’re dreadful ! ” 

Mr. Manning was in haste to climb the mesa 
and see some of the marvels of which he had 
heard, and the officers were equally eager to go 
with him. Andy’s leg was too stiff and sore, and 
Annie and Carter were content to stay below; 
but Cora and Zeph were willing guides, and after 
breakfast the camp was left in charge of a ser- 
geant, John and the head packer were called, and 
the party slowly climbed the stairways and lis- 
tened to the story of how each difficulty was 
overcome. Cora said the thing could never have 
been done without Zeph and the others, while 
Zeph declared the success was wholly due to 
Cora’s pluck and wit. 

While the gentlemen walked over to the ruins 
on the Butte, and looked curiously at the empty 
basin of the pond, John and the packer planned 
how to get the wagon down from the height, and 
decided on a method of lowering it over the 
ledges by ropes. 

“You could never have handled that wagon- 
top, Andy,” said Mr. Manning, when he returned, 
“let alone getting the body and running-gear 
through those narrow passages.” 


301 


A Happy End 

“ I know it, sir, but I didn’t think it worth 
while to say so till the last minute. I meant to 
keep up their courage as long as I could.” 

Now, however, there was no lack of help. A 
squad of men was sent up, and by nightfall had 
brought everything down, bringing the remainder 
of the cargo and the wheels by hand, and lower- 
ing the heavy wagon-body over one cliff after 
another by ropes. Early next morning, therefore, 
the ambulance was standing on its wheels by the 
headquarters, as good as new, with all its cargo 
in its proper place aboard. 

“To think,” exclaimed Captain King, in ad- 
miration, “that these young people were able 
not only to save themselves under such hard 
circumstances, but to bring off all their stock, 
vehicles, and baggage ! Manning, I congratulate 
you on your sons — and especially on your 
daughters,” he added gallantly, lifting his forage 
cap. “ Gentlemen,” he called to everybody 
standing near, “ three cheers for the Misses 
Manning ! ” 

And they were given with a will. 

Meanwhile a ceremony had been taking place 
in camp. The Indian prisoners were gathered in 
a circle, and through one of the Mexican pack- 
train men, who understood the Navajo language, 
they were questioned and lectured. They said 


302 


An Island in the Air 


they lived on a river about a dozen miles below, 
and were not at war with the white people — 
were very sorry, and all that. Captain King was 
told of this, and went over and talked to them. 
He scolded them well, took away their blankets, 
weapons, and horses (except one pony for the 
wounded man), and turned them loose to foot it 
home, where he knew (and they knew) they would 
be still worse punished by the scoffing and ridi- 
cule of their village. 

And just as they were going Mr. Manning 
called the chief, a fine-looking young barbarian, 
to him, and after talking with him a few moments 
gave him a light rifle to replace the old gun 
broken when he pitched off the horse Cora had 
shot from under him. 

“I’d rather have that chap for a friend than 
an enemy,” said the ex-captain of dragoons 
as the smiling Indian strode away. “ He tells 
me his name is Ouray, and that he is not a Navajo 
at all, but a Ute, just visiting the village down 
below.” 

The captain proposed to start that afternoon 
and make a short march to a fine camping-place 
five miles eastward; and after lunch camp was 
struck, the pack-animals given their burdens, the 
four travelled mules hitched into the ambulance, 
and riding animals were saddled. Andy climbed 


303 


A Happy End 

rather stiffly into the ambulance as passenger, 
Annie was lifted to Chestnut’s back by Lieuten- 
ant Abert, and Zeph gathered up the reins as 
Cora took her seat by his side. 

“ All ready ! ” said Captain King. The bugler 
sounded “ Boots and Saddles ! ” the troopers 
mounted all together and swung into orderly 
column-of-fours, their sabres clinking merrily, 
and the homeward march was begun. 

“ Captain King,” asked Mr. Manning, as they 
rode slowly beside the ambulance at the head of 
the column, “ you are a man of science, as well as 
a soldier of experience in the West; how do you 
account for the sudden failure of that big spring ? ” 

“ It is evident to my mind,” the officer replied, 
“ that the chasm cut by the cloud-burst, and which 
became a permanent waterway, was so much 
deepened by the floods from the subsequent 
storms, and especially that last one, that it finally 
tapped the underground source of the spring, and 
so suddenly cut off the supply.” 

“ So much for Whalpi’s rain-gods ! ” exclaimed 
Zeph. 

“ Oh, tell us,” Annie exclaimed. “ Did you 
see or hear anything of the old priest of the 
Mokis?” 

“ Not a trace, my dear.” 

















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